Many people are reporting that they have not received a message from BG-Alert. This is clear from dozens of posts on social networks, after a national test of the disaster notification system was conducted today for half an hour – between 1 and 1:30 p.m.
Katya Ankova – an inspector in the General Directorate “Fire Safety and Protection of the Population”, explained that the probable reason why citizens did not receive messages from BG-Alert is that they did not activate the option in the settings of their phones.
According to the director of “Fire Safety and Protection of the Population”, Alexander Zhartov, the test of the system was successful. Zhartov also made the same point regarding those who did not receive notice.
“The operators’ cells worked the way we expected. Those citizens who had activated in advance, including me, receiving a message on the test channel, received such messages. With some phones, by presumption, this channel, which is for test messages, is disabled,” the director of the PBZN commented to BNR.
A check by Dir.bg shows, however, that citizens whose phone message settings were turned on also did not receive a notification from BG-Alert.
The system was first tested nearly a year ago. The test was not announced in advance, which contributed to mass panic among people. Then the Ministry of the Interior and the mobile operator clarified that the inspection was not coordinated with them.
However, the system was not used in real disasters, such as the fire near the village of Voden. At the time, one of the reasons given for not using BG-Alert was a lack of trained personnel to operate the system. Resignations were also demanded.
Today’s test included the distribution of a message to mobile devices of citizens throughout the country, containing text in Bulgarian and English. The message is received once, accompanied by a specific sound and/or vibration.
The test was supposed to be held on October 1, but was postponed due to the situation in the Middle East and to avoid further tension among citizens.
The BG-ALERT system is being developed with EU funding from the end of 2022. Its purpose is to notify citizens by telephone of accidents, disasters or military attacks.
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