Thousands of Brussels residents will receive a text on Thursday, 7 April from Belgium’s official early warning system operated by the National Crisis Centre. But don’t worry, it’s just a test.
On the first Thursday of every quarter, Belgian federal officials test their early warning systems which are used in the case of disaster or emergency.
The government will test the emergency telecommunications equipment to see if it is working as planned. In an effort to increase the country's readiness in the case of an emergency, they will also check their capacity to send out thousands of text messages at a time.
The text will also encourage Brussels residents to download the “Be-Alert” app, which has been developed by both local and national governments to more effectively warn residents of disasters, but also to circulate important government messages.
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In a comment to Belgian news agency Belga, Director General of Brussels Prevention Security (BPS), Sophie Lavaux, said that very few Belgians had actually signed up for the application. In Brussels, the application has only registered around 65,000 users.
Lavaux states that local authorities can use the application to quickly warn of outages, drinking water contamination, evacuations of areas due to emergencies, and other scenarios. The Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region Rudi Vervoort has also insisted on the importance of signing up for the application.
To ensure that the trial text messages do not create a panic, the social media accounts of the Brussels Prevention and Security (BPS) will share information of the test beforehand.
During the massive floods that swept Belgium in July 2021, the European Union and local governments were criticised for not warning locals sooner, which would have allowed for faster evacuations.
