BG-Alert early warning system to be tested on April 1st

Two tests of the BG-Alert system are scheduled for this year – one on April 1st from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM and another on October 1st. The notifications will be test messages, allowing citizens to decide whether they want to receive them or not, head of the Interior Ministry's General Directorate for Fire Safety and Population Protection, Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov, told a briefing on March 19.

He said that it takes up to four minutes from the message being sent until it reaches users. In order to receive a message, devices must support the system, not be in "airplane mode," the phone should have coverage from the mobile operator's network, and the device must be within the coverage area of the broadcasted message, Dzhartov explained.

“Early warning is an element of any modern disaster management system. When we talk about it, it should be clear that it is population-oriented and provides information about a disaster that has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur,” explained the Chief Commissioner.

Dzhartov added that continuous monitoring of hazards is necessary, and broadcasting a message to the public is the final step in the process.

He also stressed that the advantages of the technology that BG-Alert uses are that it is fast, does not use any personal data, messages can be broadcast simultaneously in different places and can work without a simcard, on the principle of the single European emergency number 112.