National early warning system test: did everyone get the BG-ALERT message?

A test of the National Disaster and Emergency Early Warning System, BG ALERT, was conducted on April 1 across the country.

In the village of Voden in Yambol district, where BG ALERT was not activated during the fires last year, there was another issue. Despite this, the fire fighting department reported that 98% of the cells in the country correctly sent out messages from the notification system. Between 11:00 and 11:30 AM today, tests were also conducted on the civil efence warning sirens across the country.

The main requirement for members of the public to receive today’s BG ALERT message was to enable the test option in their phone settings, a procedure that will not be necessary in a real emergency. However, a fundamental condition in both disasters and tests is that there must be coverage from the telecom operator. In Voden, where the system failed to activate during the devastating fires last year, no messages were received again today. The warning siren also did not sound.

Totka Karastoyanova from the village of Voden: “Some places have coverage, others don’t, and we have to search for it. But here, the likelihood of it being available is the highest, which is why I have a phone in the shop. There’s a new cell, as far as I know, after the fires, but the result is still zero. To me, this feels like unfinished business. I don’t know how it should be fixed, but we can't be in the 21st century without mobile phone coverage. Here, it’s just the bell, no sirens. In case of a disaster, it could be fatal, just as it was last summer.”

According to the Director of the General Directorate for Fire Safety and Protection of the Population, Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov, however, the fire department cannot compel mobile operators to build new cells, nor is it responsible for the sirens in order to solve the issue. Complaints about the lack of test notifications were also raised in some of the larger cities, while others pointed out that they had received the message without setting their phones in advance.

Dimo Dimitrov: I have received before so it should have been on.

"My phone is in standard mode. I don’t know what the test mode is.

BNT: "You didn’t receive anything?

"No, I didn’t."

“I didn’t get a notification, but I heard there was a test, was it from a car, from what...?”

BNT: "From the sirens for a technical check?"

"Yes!"

Despite the complaints, the fire fighting department considers the test to be successful.

“The results show that in 98% of the cells, we have sent the message, for 2% of them, we have no information,” summarised Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov, Director of the General Directorate for Fire Safety and Protection of the Population.

photos by BTA

Since the system was launched, 179 municipal and regional administration employees have been trained to work with BG ALERT and send warning messages in case of disasters and emergencies. The next test of the system will take place on October 1st.