![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_JHP_MDM_230423ALERT_05.jpg\")
An emergency alert is to be sent out to mobile phone users(Image: Julian Hamilton\/Daily Mirror)<\/p>\nMillions of mobile phones will make a siren sound and receive a text message in the UK on Sunday afternoon for the test of a nationwide emergency alert systemAn emergency alert is to be sent out to mobile phone users(Image: Julian Hamilton\/Daily Mirror)<\/p>\n
Brits are to receive a siren sound on their mobile phones<\/a> and a text message for a test of an emergency alert system.<\/p>\n At around 3pm on Sunday, mobile phones connected to 4G and 5G networks will vibrate and emit the siren sound for up to 10 seconds. Mobile phone users<\/a> will also receive a message making clear that the alert is a drill. It will mark the second test of the national emergency alert system \u2013 after the first in 2023.<\/p>\n The Government has used the system to issue real warnings five times, including in January during Storm Eowyn to warn people in Scotland<\/a> and Northern Ireland about severe weather<\/a>.<\/p>\n READ MORE: UK drivers warned over ‘avoiding’ road instead of having to follow new rule<\/a>READ MORE: BT warning for anyone who still has UK landline in their home<\/a> Approximately 3.5 million people across Wales and south-west England received an alert during Storm Darragh last December. A 500kg unexploded Second World War bomb found in a Plymouth back garden triggered a warning to some 50,000 phones in February last year.<\/p>\n Messages can be targeted to relatively small areas to pinpoint those at risk. Some 15,000 phones were alerted during flooding in Cumbria in May 2024, and 10,000 received a warning during flooding in Leicestershire in January this year.<\/p>\n The system is designed for use during the most likely emergencies to affect the UK and warnings would also be transmitted on television, radio and locally by knocking on doors.<\/p>\n Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: \u201cOn Sunday September 7, we will hold a UK-wide test of the Emergency Alerts system to ensure it works when we need it most. It is a vital tool for keeping the nation safe when lives are on the line \u2013 and every minute matters.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring Storm Darragh and Storm Eowyn, as millions faced dangerous extreme weather, I saw first-hand how effective it was at getting life-saving advice to at-risk communities in an instant. We do not use the system often, but like the fire alarm in your home, it is always on standby should we need to act.\u201d<\/p>\n But there are concerns that the sound could reveal hidden phones belonging to domestic abuse victims and groups are advising them how to opt out of the alert.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1_Emergency-national-alert-system.jpg\")
The system has been used to issue real warnings five times(Image: PA)<\/p>\n