London’s Euston Station sounded like something out of a horror movie as the government emergency alert went off at 3:00pm this afternoon.
Unless you’re one of a select group of people in the UK - who all seem to have one thing in common - you’ll probably have had a jarring alarm go off on your mobile phone this afternoon.
That’s because the government was testing out an emergency alert message system, sending a test warning to all phones in the UK.
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This system is in place in case there’s a big dangerous event, which could be anything including - but not limited to - flooding, wildfires, or terror attacks.
It was first put in place by the Labour government of 2013, and this test today proved that, largely, the system works.
The new UK deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden - only in post for a few days after Dominic Raab’s resignation over bullying accusations - said that the alert could be the ‘sound that saves your life’.
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He said: “Getting this system operational with the national test means we have another tool in our toolkit to keep the public safe in life-threatening emergencies.
“It could be the sound that saves your life.”
Speaking today on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Dowden added: “It can be a bit inconvenient and annoying.
"I think, in future, people will be grateful that we tested the system and what I would say is that at 3pm, when this siren - which I should say is about the volume of a phone call going off - goes off, you don't need to do anything.
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"It is just a test."
Well, in Euston Station in Central London today, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a real alien invasion or nuclear attack was on the way, given how spooky it sounded.
It’s the stuff of nightmares, isn’t it?
If you didn’t get the message, or didn’t bother to read it before swiping or pressing it away, it came with a message that read: "This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will warn you if there's a life-threatening emergency nearby.
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"In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.
"Visit gov.uk/alerts for more information.
"This is a test. You do not need to take any action."
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As you can see from the video, nearly everyone’s alert went off at the same time, as well as a voice reading out the message on one phone.
Most people were ready and had their phone in their hand ready to turn it off, but imagine if one day you heard this for real.
Let’s hope it never comes to that.
Topics: UK News, Technology, Weird, London
Tom Wood