Thousands of Bulgarians were surprised by a loud beep and a danger warning alert received on their phones yesterday. This was a test of the BG-ALERT system for early warning the general public about emergencies and disasters, which is currently being introduced in the country.
However, the message was released due to a technical error by the contracting company, authorities said. That's why the mobile phone users didn't get a warning about... the warning system.
Without warning: Test message of BG-ALERT early warning system received by a large number of mobile phone users
Speaking to BNT on November 2, the director of the fire-fighting department, Chief Commissioner Angel Dzhartov, said that the real testing would begin next week and would be conducted on a schedule for the different regions of the country.
The testing will start in Gabrovo Region on November 7. There will be tests in the other regions on the following dates:
- November 14 - the regions of Vidin, Vratsa, Lovech, Montana and Pleven
- November 15 - Veliko Tarnovo, Razgrad, Rousse and Silistra regions
- November 16 - Varna, Dobrich, Targovishte and Shumen regions
- November 21 - Bourgas, Sliven, Stara Zagora and Yambol regions
- November 22 - Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, Pernik, Sofia City and Sofia regions
- November 23 - Kardzhali, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Smolyan and Haskovo regions.
On November 29, a nationwide BG-ALERT test will take place. During each test, a message will be broadcast for half an hour from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m., containing texts both in Bulgarian and English.
The message on the mobile device is expected to be a one-off and accompanied by a specific sound and vibration, even if silent mode is activated.
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