A test of B.C.’s emergency alert system is scheduled to be sent across B.C. Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, the alert will go to all compatible cellphones, causing them to sound an alarm and will interrupt radio and television broadcasts at 1:55 p.m. PT Wednesday.
The test alert will read, in part, “This is a TEST of the BC Emergency Alert system. This is ONLY a TEST. In an emergency, this message would tell you what to do to stay safe.”
The test of B.C.’s emergency alert system comes as the B.C. coast mops up from the high winds produced by a ‘bomb cyclone’ that formed over the Pacific.
The emergency alert system is tested twice a year — once in the spring and once in the fall, the province said. If you don’t receive an alert, it may mean your phone is not connected to an LTE cellular network. The alert won’t go through if a phone is set to “do not disturb” or is in airplane mode, or if its software is out of date.
Emergency alerts are sent in the event of tsunamis, wildfires, floods and extreme heat. Police also issue them for civil emergencies and Amber Alerts.