By KATRINA BRANDON

 

WHAT could have felt like a Stephen King’s Cell moment, AusAlert tested the waters for its new alarm service on Monday (July 27).

With the frequency of a “zombie apocalypse” feeling, the alarm went off at 2pm and lasted a whole 10 seconds.

According to the ABC, the federal government invested about $132 million to build and test the system.

While some people didn’t get the alert, many people questioned, was that worth it?

The Express posted online not long after the event, with many commenting their thoughts on the matter.

For Latrobe Valley, the alert system is certainly not ready, with some saying if they were in a shopping centre, it wouldn’t be loud enough, some phones didn’t activate at all, or for some, rang through hearing devices.

Others had their partner’s phone alert right next to them, while their own phone sat quiet.

For this alert, no action was required, but it was certainly testing the waters on the impact that it could have in the future, with Australia a fire-prone country.

For those who did not receive an alert, don’t panic.

On the AusAlert website, they said that due to it being a test, people do not need to do anything. Reasons why it may not have gone off include not being compatible with your phone, your device might not be updated to a software version that allows emergency alerts to be received, device may not have signal, mobile tower closest may be under maintenance, an outage or no power, or your device may not be connected to a tower at the time of the test.

“Finding out how devices behave is one of the reasons why we’re testing the AusAlert system before it launches,” the website states.

“It doesn’t mean the test has failed or there has been a technical issue.

“We’re testing to confirm the AusAlert system is working as intended and understand how it performs across different devices, networks and locations.”

For those who want to provide feedback on the national test, go to: https://www.ausalert.gov.au/feedback

AusAlert was created in response to the 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.

According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Royal Commission found that emergency warning systems, including mobile-based alerts, were critical.

AusAlert will eventually replace the existing SMS-based alert system, which is called Emergency Alert.

In future, an AusAlert notification could be sent for natural disasters like bushfires, floods and cyclones, biosecurity outbreaks, and health emergencies including pandemics.

For more information, go to: https://www.ausalert.gov.au/