Understanding Emergency Alerts on Your Phone

Do you know how people react when they receive an emergency alert on their phone? The reaction can be significant and immediate, often leading to urgent actions and ensuring safety.

General Reactions to Emergency Alerts

The first reaction to an emergency alert on a phone is usually a mix of surprise and urgency. The distinctive jarring alert sound notifies you instantly that something serious is happening. Most individuals stop whatever they are doing, whether they are in the middle of a conversation, working, or just relaxing at home.

The natural response is to quickly read the alert to understand the nature of the emergency. It could be a severe weather warning, an Amber Alert, or a public safety threat. For example, during a summer barbecue, the unexpected alert of a tornado warning transformed the once carefree evening into a moment of urgent action.

A Real-Life Example

My own experience during a barbecue in my backyard is a vivid example. We were laughing, grilling, and enjoying the warm weather when our phones went off with the distinctive jarring alert sound. Instantly, the atmosphere changed. We all reached for our phones and read the alert: a tornado warning in our area. The alert advised us to take cover immediately. We rushed inside, turned on the news, and gathered in the safest part of the house, which happened to be my basement.

We listened to the weather updates for the next half hour and exchanged stories to keep our spirits up. Fortunately, the tornado passed without causing any damage. The alert undoubtedly saved us from potential harm. It’s amazing how a simple alert can transform a relaxed evening into a moment of urgent action and how it brings out the best in people, working together to stay safe.

How to Handle Emergency Alerts

After receiving an alert, you can either pay attention to it or delete it. Most emergency alerts are sent directly to your text messages or email, depending on the type of message it is. You can always go to your settings and turn off alert messages on most newer phones if you prefer not to receive them.

Because of my location, I primarily receive two types of alerts: Amber alerts and tornado alerts. I ignore Amber alerts since I’m typically not out and about when they come in. However, tornado alerts get my full attention. In my area, a serious threat must trigger a phone alert, so I’ll drop whatever I am doing and get on to NOAA radio and weather radar.

Emergency Preparedness for Serious Threats

I am a HAM radio operator, which means I have a considerable radio setup. I begin monitoring the 2-Meter amateur band for storm spotter reports and the local public service police/fire. All this is set up on presets from my home radio systems, so it takes less than a minute.

I take one or two minutes to gather information and then decide how to proceed. Most of the time, that means sitting back and watching it head in a different direction. We had one case last summer where we took the next step of getting pets in kennels and ready to move to our storm shelter. That was rare, but we were getting direct alerts from NOAA, our phones were ringing with recorded messages, and our city sirens were going off… so you know it got our attention.