Most mobile phones didn't receive the Civil Defence alert test

Monday, 27 November 2017

Only about a third of mobile phones in New Zealand can receive the new emergency alerts, but that number will rise as people update their devices.

The new Civil Defence alert system, tested across the country on Sunday evening, doesn't reach most mobile phones but that will change.

The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM) estimated only about a third of the mobile phones in the country would have received the test alert.

That amounted to about 2 million phones.

Plenty of phone models can receive the alerts, and a list of them can be found on the MCDEM website.

The phones also need to have the most up-to-date operating system. That's because the software is needed to activate phones to receive the alerts, which are sent out using cell broadcast technology.

MCDEM wants feedback on how the alert test went, and by mid-morning Monday more than 20,000 people had sent in online feedback, spokesman Anthony Frith said.

One of the things the ministry was looking to find out was whether the alerts were more widely received in some areas than others. So far, the understanding was that coverage had been great.

A phone survey was also to be carried out in coming days to get a representative sample of the population, which should show how many people received an alert, Frith said.

There were indications that some phones in silent mode stayed silent, while in others the silent mode was overridden. The silent switch on the side of iPhones did turn the sound off.

MCDEM said that any phones capable of receiving an emergency mobile alert should receive any alerts sent out, provided they were switched on. It was not possible to opt out of receiving an alert in New Zealand. One possible reason for not receiving a message could be if a phone was in flight mode.

'Your phone may show optional settings used in other countries, but in New Zealand we will use a special broadcast channel that is permanently on,' MCDEM said. It expects the number of people able to receive the alerts to rise 'substantially' in time as people replace their phones with newer models.

The alerts should be received in areas with cell reception, which for now is about 97 per cent of the populated area of the country.

Other than for tests, alerts will only be used for serious hazards that involve threats to life, health or property. 'For example Emergency Mobile Alert may be used to warn you of serious threats such as a tsunami affecting land areas, wildfire affecting people, armed offenders at large, or seriously contaminated drinking water.'

The alerts will be sent by authorised emergency agencies and can be targeted to specific areas.

If you receive an emergency mobile alert, MCDEM's message is to 'take it seriously'. If necessary there will be updates, and there will be advice when the threat is over.

The emergency mobile alert channel is described as 'additional' to other alerting systems. Other channels, such as radio, TV, websites and social media will still be used. The alerts may not work if mobile phone towers are damaged of if there is a power outage.

Also, MCDEM makes the point that if you know something big has happened, don't wait for an alert to take the necessary action.

'If you feel your life may be in danger, don't wait for an official warning. Take immediate action,' the ministry said.

'If you're near the coast and you experience an earthquake that lasts longer than a minute or makes it difficult to stand up, then head inland or to higher ground immediately. Remember – Long or Strong, Get Gone.'

Sarb Johal, associate professor in disaster mental health at Massey University, said the fact only about 30 per cent of phones in use could receive the alerts did raise an issue of a digital divide between those who could receive the alerts and those who couldn't.

'In addition, people may perhaps cross-check and compare information because they received an alert, yet someone else close to them did not,' he said.

'This fact-checking process may use up precious time in an emergency situation where, for example, speedy evacuation from a low-lying area liable to tsunami becomes critical.'

Johal cautioned that people who could receive the alerts may come to rely on them as 'calls to action'.

GNS Science risk and society department senior scientist Dr Graham Leonard said the activation of the emergency mobile alert system was a landmark change for public warnings.

He also emphasised the need for people to act before receiving a warning if they felt a long or strong earthquake.

'That will always remain the fastest sign to evacuate, as there may be a devastating tsunami coming and every minute counts. The official warnings are for people who didn't feel the earthquake, or were asleep, because they were a bit farther away,' Leonard said.

The challenge of people waiting for a warning had been seen in other places with systems that could give fast warnings.