Residents in some parts of the UAE received an emergency alert on Tuesday evening after authorities detected an aerial threat from Iran.
Phones began sounding at about 6.52pm, with the Cell Broadcast message telling residents to “immediately seek a safe place in the closest secure building, steer away from windows, doors and open areas”. The previous alert received by residents was on July 12.
A sudden emergency alert on your phone can be unsettling, particularly when it warns of a missile threat. So, here is a breakdown of what to do when the alarm sounds, when it is safe to leave your shelter, and how the system works.
What should residents do when the alarm sounds?
Since the beginning of the war between the US and Iran, residents across the UAE have received broadcast messages warning of potential aerial threats. The alerts often ask residents to stay safe and act immediately.
Authorities have also released guides to ensure public safety during such emergencies. For residents, the most important part of an emergency alert is not identifying the cause of the warning but understanding the instruction and acting on it.
If you receive an alert when outdoors, here’s what you need to do:
- When you receive the alert, you must move into the nearest building
- Avoid open spaces
- You must not stand next to an external wall or glass panel
If you receive an alert while driving, follow this guidance:
- Continue driving with caution
- Do not stop on the road or start filming any incident
- If possible, drive to the nearest indoor location and take shelter
Drivers should not stop in a way that blocks roads or emergency access routes, and should avoid unnecessary travel while an emergency is occurring.
Those who are at home or in closed areas should follow these steps:
- Step away from balconies or windows
- Move to the central area of the building you are in
- Stay clear of glass partitions or surfaces. This is because glass could shatter under the impact of falling debris, injuring those standing nearby
- Listen to building security or announcements
- Avoid using lifts unless specifically instructed to do so
Continue to take these measures until the follow-up safety message is sent out by the Ministry of Information. At that point, residents can resume normal activities.
What to avoid doing during an emergency
Authorities have repeatedly asked residents not to spread unverified news or share unfounded social media posts, but to rely on official sources for information.
Filming or photographing sensitive locations or emergency operations is a punishable offence in the UAE. Taking videos and photos of missile interceptions or falling debris and posting them online is also prohibited. Such videos could reveal details of operations, locations and security presence to adversaries.
If authorities issue a warning of an aerial threat, residents should remain in a secure indoor location and not go out to see what is happening.
Not all residents get missile alerts
The UAE’s early warning system (EWS) is geolocation-based, meaning residents may or may not receive siren alerts depending on where they are at the time of the incident.
The National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (Ncema) says the warning system is a vital preventive tool that promptly alerts the public and strengthens national preparedness during emergencies.
“The national early warning system operates based on geographic location. Alerts are sent only to the areas concerned based on the location of the hazard, the nature of the hazard and the extent of its impact,” Ncema said.
“Alert receipt may also vary depending on the device’s location at the time the alert is issued and on emergency alert settings.”
Ncema added that people might hear reverberations from nearby locations affected by missile attacks, even if they did not receive alerts and emphasised that this “does not indicate a system fault”. Instead, it reflects the precision of the warning mechanism in directing alerts only to where is necessary.
UAE changes to quieter alerts
In March, the UAE adjusted its public warning notification system.
Instead of a uniform, loud siren, the alert tone varies in timing and includes two distinct notification modes. From 9am to 10.30pm, the alert uses a high tone, with a standard text message tone at the end. From 10.30pm to 9am, the alert uses a standard text-message tone for both the alert and the standard end of alert.
Ncema said the change was intended to make alerts clearer and more appropriate at different times of day, meaning a quieter tone during the evening.
How does the alert system work?
In 2019, the UAE’s telecoms authority enabled a National Public Warning Service (UAE Alert), which uses cell broadcast technology to disseminate warnings issued by authorities to the public during times of crisis.
Unlike individual text messages, Cell Broadcast flashes messages to the mobile phones of many people in a specific location and time frame. The area can be as small as one cell and as big as the entire network.
For the system, mobile devices must support receiving and displaying emergency alerts in Arabic and English. The emergency alerts are displayed on the mobile device upon reception and without any user interaction, with no option to reply to, forward, or copy received alerts.
The alerts remain on the display regardless of the user’s settings until the user cancels the notification; the message can be reviewed later.