An Alarm is being sent to your phone Wednesday afternoon, but don’t worry, it’s only a test.
Emergency management systems will be sending out test signals across the country this Wednesday. They will be sent out to TV stations and radio as well as Canadians’ mobile devices.
The test will be sent out throughout the day and depending on what time zone you are in, every province and territory, with the exception of Nunavut, will issue the test.
The national public alert system first came into practice early last year and has been met with a somewhat polarizing response.
Some 125 emergency messages have been issued since January alone, warning Canadians of everything from dangerous weather to Amber Alerts.
A massive backlash on social media came when some people called 9-1-1 to complain about their sleep being interrupted.
These tests are to ensure the system–Alert Ready–is working correctly says Pelmorex Corp, the company behind the technical infrastructure and the owner of The Weather Network. The test is meant to make Canadians aware of what the real signals will actually look like in emergency cases where time is of the essence.
Compatible wireless devices must be connected to an LTE network and have the latest software in operation in order to receive the alert.
The system had glitches last year when first tested, with many people not receiving the test emergency messages.