What to Do When You Get an Emergency Alert

An Emergency Alert arrives as a loud, siren-like sound and a distinct vibration, with a message on your screen that stays until you acknowledge it¹. It is sent by the UK Government to warn you that there is a danger to life nearby, and it goes to compatible 4G and 5G mobile phones and tablets in the area of risk². The single most important thing to do is simple: read the alert carefully and follow the instructions it gives you².

Those instructions are written to keep you and the people around you safe, and they are specific to what is happening where you are⁴. If the alert tells you to shelter, the standard advice is to go inside, stay inside and tune in to local radio, and to stay there until the emergency services or local radio tell you otherwise⁵. If it tells you something else, do that instead.

You do not need to reply to the alert, and you should not try to read it while driving². What follows sets out what to do in the first minutes, what sheltering actually means, why your phone sounded, and how to look after the people around you.

Read the alert, then do what it says

Every piece of official guidance on Emergency Alerts comes back to the same instruction. Read the alert carefully and follow the instructions provided⁹. In an actual emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe⁷. The alert will give you clear instructions of what to do to stay safe³. Follow the advice in any official warning or emergency alert you receive¹⁰.

That is deliberately straightforward, because an alert arrives at a moment when you may be frightened and in a hurry. The message is written by the organisation dealing with the incident, so it reflects what is actually happening near you rather than a general warning for the whole country. Stop what you are doing and follow the instructions of the alert⁴. If the emergency services are on the scene, follow their advice as well¹¹.

A few practical points help you act on it well:

• Read the whole message before moving. The screen holds the alert until you acknowledge it, so there is no rush to dismiss it¹.
• Find it again if you need to. On Android phones the alert may be in the Messages app or in "Emergency Alert History"; on an iPhone it will be in your notifications¹.
• Do not reply or ring back. The alert is a one-way warning, and the number to call for help is 999 if life is at risk⁸.
• Tell the people with you. A short, clear sentence about what the alert says and what you are doing next is enough.

If you are not sure whether an alert is genuine, check official sources of information online, which those affected may be asked to do alongside tuning in to local or national radio². You can read more about telling real alerts from scams in How to Tell If an Emergency Alert Is Genuine.

If you are told to shelter: go in, stay in, tune in

Sheltering is the advice used in most major emergencies, and it is easier than it sounds. The simple advice is to go inside, stay inside, and tune into local radio⁵. In full, it means shelter where you are, stay there until more advice is given by the emergency services, and listen to local media stations for more information¹².

The three steps break down like this:

1. Go in. Get indoors as soon as you can. Close doors and windows, and if you are told you are near a radiation emergency, stay as far away from external walls as possible¹³.
2. Stay in. Do not go outside to look, and do not set off to collect anyone unless the alert tells you to. Stay in until you are told otherwise by the emergency services or local radio⁶.
3. Tune in. Use local radio, TV or the internet, where public information and advice from the emergency responders will be broadcast¹⁴.

The same advice is repeated across the UK's resilience guidance for most emergencies: go indoors, close doors and windows, stay indoors until you know more, and tune in to local radio or television for updates¹⁵. Where an incident affects a wider area, those affected may be asked to go in, stay in and tune in to local or national radio stations, or to check official sources of information online¹⁶.

A radio that works without mains power is the piece of kit that makes sheltering work, because it keeps you informed if the electricity or mobile network fails. Emergency Radios: Wind-Up, Solar and Battery Types and How to Choose explains the options, and Which Radio Stations to Tune Into During a Power Cut covers what to listen for.

Why your phone received the alert

Emergency Alerts are sent using mobile phone networks to compatible mobile phones and tablets in a specific geographical area⁹. Every compatible mobile phone or tablet in range of a mast will receive the alert, and alerts are only sent if your current location is impacted¹⁷. That is why the phone of a visitor, a delivery driver or someone passing through can sound at the same moment as the phones of people who live there.

The system is run by the UK Government and warns you if there is a danger to life nearby¹⁸. You will know you have one because of the loud, siren-like sound and the distinct vibration, and the message stays on screen until you acknowledge it¹. Fire and rescue services can also issue an alert if there is a risk to life, based on your current location¹⁹.

If your phone did not sound, that does not mean you are safe or forgotten. If you do not have a compatible device, you will still be informed about an emergency, because the emergency services have other means of getting the message out². The government's alert page also shows whether there are any current alerts, and at the time of writing it records that there are no current alerts².

Two questions come up often. Whether your handset will receive alerts at all is covered in Will Your Phone Receive Emergency Alerts?, and whether the system tracks you or costs anything is answered in Do Emergency Alerts Track Your Location or Cost Anything?. If you have no mobile phone, How to Get Emergency Warnings Without a Mobile Phone sets out the alternatives.

What an alert can be about

Alerts are used for emergencies where there is a risk to life and people need to act immediately. The government gives wildfires, severe flooding, extreme storms and any type of life threatening emergency as examples². Local guidance adds major fires and other incidents that require immediate action⁹, and the same examples of severe flooding, fires and extreme weather appear across the campaign material⁴.

The type of incident changes what "follow the instructions" means in practice. For a fire or wildfire near your home, the fire and rescue service's own guidance on protecting your home is worth reading before anything happens, so that you know what you would do¹⁹. For flooding, the alert may be the first you know of it, which is why it is worth knowing in advance where you would go and what you would take. The Flooding: A Household Guide and Storms, Snow and Ice: A Household Guide pages cover the preparation that makes an alert easier to act on.

If the alert sounds while you are driving

Do not read it at the wheel. If you are driving when you get an alert, you should carry on driving and not pick up the phone⁷. Do not read or respond to an alert while driving. If you hear an alert while driving, continue until you can stop safely⁹. The same rule applies to riders: do not read or respond to an emergency alert while driving or riding².

Once you have stopped somewhere safe and legal, read the message and act on it. If there is nowhere safe to stop and nobody else in the vehicle can read the alert to you, listen to live radio instead². That is a sensible fallback, because local radio carries the same public information and advice from the responders¹⁴.

There is more detail, including what to do if you are on a motorway when it sounds, in What to Do If an Emergency Alert Sounds While Driving.

Looking after the people around you

An alert is a moment to check on others as well as yourself. If someone is seriously ill or injured and their life may be at risk, call 999⁸. Call 999 if someone is seriously ill, injured or in immediate danger¹¹. Also call 999 if you think someone has had a major trauma, such as after a serious road traffic accident, a fall from height or a serious head injury²¹. If you are involved in an emergency or witness one, dial 999 and ask for the police, fire, ambulance or coastguard service as appropriate²³. In Northern Ireland the same number applies, and you can call 999 or 112 if people are injured or there is a threat to life²⁴.

For people who are less likely to have a mobile phone, plan ahead. Identify someone who lives near them who can pass on any Emergency Alerts being sent²⁵. You can also help by preparing their home before an emergency, picking up extra food, water, toiletries or medications, making sure they have important numbers written down, and keeping in contact by phone or visiting them if it is safe to do so²⁶. If someone has fallen and needs help, they can use a community alarm if they have one, call a relative, friend or neighbour, ask a smart speaker to call someone, or shout or bang on a wall to attract a neighbour's attention²⁷.

Children pick up on adult worry, so keep your own voice calm and explain what is happening in simple terms. Letting children help with the emergency plan and household kit can help them remember the information and feel safer²⁶. If you are waiting for an ambulance, the advice is to stay calm²⁸, and the same applies while you wait for the alert's instructions to change.

Where to get more information and help

The alert itself is the start of the information, not the end. Tune in to local radio, TV or the internet, where public information and advice from the emergency responders will be broadcast¹⁴. Official sources online are the other reliable place to check, and the government's alert page lists any current alerts². Where to Get Official Warnings and News in an Emergency sets out which sources to trust, and How to Avoid False Information in an Emergency helps you spot rumours.

If you need medical help but it is not a life-threatening emergency, NHS 111 can advise you, and 999 is for serious illness or injury where life may be at risk²². For day-to-day help from neighbours, family and local groups, Community Resilience: A Guide for Neighbours and Local Groups explains how to build the contacts that matter before an alert arrives. Households with older, disabled or medically dependent members will find more in Extra Help in an Emergency.

Finally, keep your phone charged and your radio ready, so that the next alert finds you able to act on it. What to Keep Charged Before a Power Cut and Getting Your Mobile Phone Ready for an Emergency cover the practical steps.