On Saturday, May 2, at 11.45 am, crores of mobile phones emitted a piercing “Extremely Severe Alert” sound, which was repeated a few minutes later. We received it only once. Let us appreciate the planned drill conducted by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to create awareness among citizens. This nationwide testing of a new cell broadcast-based disaster warning system was built on an indigenous platform called SACHET and follows global alerting protocols. SACHET is operational in all Indian States and Union Territories and has enabled more than 134 billion SMS alerts in several languages for warnings related to cyclones, floods, earthquakes, large-scale gas leaks and other disasters. Alerts are received even when mobile phones are on silent or do-not-disturb mode, and other phone functions stop temporarily.
On Saturday, many people were confused and anxious after hearing the alert, linking it to tensions in West Asia, cyberattacks or natural disasters. Although NDMA and DoT had sent SMS messages, there were cases where people did not receive them. The next time such a drill is conducted, prior announcements should be made through newspapers, radio, social media and WhatsApp messages, along with clear dos and don’ts. This would make people less apprehensive. Otherwise, it may turn into a case similar to the story of the boy who cried wolf, where people may fail to react when an actual disaster occurs.
