We write this because a lot of people in the next few days are going to be wondering why they are getting an alarm notification, if nothing is happening around them. The answer is that the Spanish government is going to test the national alarm system to send notifications directly to the mobile phones of citizens in certain areas.
To do this, they must first test the warning system for citizens and verify that those who are located in certain geographical areas of the country receive it. That is, in the coming days, different autonomous communities in Spain will have their citizens receiving an emergency message, even though there is no emergency.
When will the alert messages happen on the mobile and what will they be used for?
What days will we receive the alerts?
It will depend on where you live or are located.
- Monday October 24: Cantabria, Andalusia and Asturias.
- Thursday October 27: Extremadura, Valencian Community and Galicia.
- Wednesday, November 2: Murcia, the Balearic Islands, the Community of Madrid, Aragon, Navarra and Catalonia.
- Thursday, November 10: Basque Country, Castilla y León, Canary Islands and Ceuta
- Wednesday November 16: Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja and Melilla.
Will I get the alert message?
By default, mobile phones are configured to receive wireless emergency alerts, which is what Civil Protection will use for these tests. You can disable it in the Security settings of your smartphone, if you wish not to receive it.
What will Civil Protection alerts be used for?
They will be used to notify the population of possible alerts such as dangerous weather, earthquakes and more cases in which the general population is required to receive a message about nearby dangers. This is based on the idea that all citizens have a smartphone, which they see as an efficient way to send a message to all citizens and ensure that they receive the alert.
In theory, it should work securely and shouldn't be easy to hack into to send mass advertising or unauthorized messages. There was a case a few years ago where the population of Hawaii received a missile alert. But it turned out to be an accident. It made the news because it was an exceptional case, and that's why it was newsworthy—because it wasn't normal for it to fail. With all this in mind, we hope you're aware of what's coming in the next few days, and that you won't be alarmed if you receive a civil protection alert on your mobile phones on the indicated dates.
