Plymouth residents are being encouraged to subscribe to a local emergency phone notification service, which operates independently from the new national Emergency Alerts system.
Plymouth has an existing phone emergency notification system aimed at residents and businesses around the city’s three controlled sites – the dockyard site at Devonport, the Defence Munitions site at Ernesettle and the two fuel depots in Cattedown.
Those who have signed up through the Council’s website receive a call or text (according to their preference) in the event of a major emergency at the one of the sites and giving information about what to do next.
You can subscribe or unsubscribe for the free Plymouth emergency notifications by visiting the emergencies page on the City Council's website.
The Government’s new Emergency Alerts system will send messages to all 4G and 5G mobile phones and tablets when lives are in danger. It will be used to warn people about emergencies such as severe flooding.
If you receive an alert you will hear a loud siren-like sound for up to 10 seconds and a message will appear on the screen. Depending on your device settings, it may also sound if set to silent and the device may vibrate or the message could be read out.
The national system is due to be tested on 23 April at 3pm. If you are driving or riding a motorcycle do not pick up your phone or attempt to deal with the message. Continue driving as normal and find a safe and legal place to pull over if you need to look at your phone.
To find out more, visit gov.uk/alerts It is possible to opt out of emergency alerts, visit this web page to find out more.