Millions of mobile phones receive unprecedented emergency alert from Government as urgent alarm sent
WATCH: Adam Cherry: 'There are lessons to be learnt over Storm Bert'
GB NEWS
Millions of Britons are set to receive an emergency alert on their mobile phones ahead of damaging winds, disruption and Met Office weather warnings across the country.
The Cabinet Office said it would issue an Emergency Alert at 6.45pm on Friday, December 6, to people in areas covered by the red warning in parts of Wales and the South West.
A statement from the Cabinet Office said that Britons' mobile phones would make a loud siren-like sound - even if they are set on silent.
The sound and vibration would last for about 10 seconds, the Government said.
It' was the largest use of the system outside a test scenario, with the last having come through in April 2023.
The last alert came through in April 2023
PA
Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan said the warning "means that there is a potential risk to life" and has urged residents to "take care and follow advice to stay safe".
The areas covered by the alert include:
- Devon;
- Bath and North East Somerset;
- Bristol;
- North Somerset;
- South Gloucestershire;
- Somerset;
- Isle of Anglesey;
- Gwynedd;
- Conwy;
- Ceredigion;
- Pembrokeshire;
- Carmarthenshire;
- Swansea;
- Neath;
- Port Talbot;
- Bridgend;
- Vale of Glamorgan;
- Cardiff;
- Monmouthshire;
- Newport.
Though the Cabinet Office said the alert would be coming through at 6.45pm, those in the affected areas were forced to wait for a quarter of an hour until the actual alert arrived at 7pm.
Labour's Bristol North West MP Darren Jones said his constituents "will have just received an emergency alert from the Government on their mobile phones" - but counselled: "It's nothing to worry about, but please follow the guidance and stay indoors."
Almost the entire country has been slapped with a series of weather warnings
MET OFFICE
While a statement from the Prime Minister just after 7pm read: "A red warning is in place for parts of the country due to Storm Darragh.
"The UK Emergency Alert System has issued advice through mobile phones in the areas affected.
"We are working with local leaders and agencies on the ground to keep you safe."
It comes after the Met Office issued its most serious red weather warning, with dangerous 90mph winds expected to hit Wales on Saturday between 3am and 11am.
MORE WEATHER UPDATES:
Eluned Morgan and Darren Jones have both warned constituents and residents to stay safe
PA
READ IN FULL: The December 2024 emergency alert
GB NEWS
Meanwhile, an amber warning stretches from southern Scotland to Cornwall and Northern Ireland, in effect from 1am until 9pm.
Flying debris and falling trees could pose a danger to life, large waves and beach material may be thrown onto coastal roads and seafronts, and buildings could suffer severe damage, forecasters warn.
The fourth named storm of the year, Storm Darragh, is expected to smash Britain with heavy rainfall as over 100 flood warnings and alerts have been issued across the UK.
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