CANADA, May 6 - To improve public safety in the event of an emergency, a test of the B.C. Emergency Alert system will occur at 1:55 p.m. (Pacific time) on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, as part of Emergency Preparedness Week.
The test alert will be sent to all compatible cellphones, and will interrupt radio and television broadcasts. The test message to cellphones will read: “This is a TEST of the B.C. Emergency Alert system. This is ONLY a TEST. In an emergency, this message would tell you what to do to stay safe. This information could save your life. Click for more info: www.emergencyinfobc.ca/test. This is ONLY a TEST. No action is required.”
This test, by the National Public Alerting System, will assess the system’s readiness for an actual emergency and identify any required adjustments.
The National Public Alerting System is a collaboration among federal, provincial and territorial governments, as well as industry partners. It provides a standard alerting capability to rapidly warn the public of imminent or unfolding hazards and threats to life and safety.
The B.C. Emergency Alert system was launched on April 6, 2018, and is tested twice a year, in spring and fall. Recognizing the importance of this tool, the Province expanded the use of B.C. Emergency Alerts in 2022 beyond tsunami warnings to also include imminent threats from floods, wildfires and extreme-heat emergencies.
Last year, the federal government launched the earthquake early-warning system in British Columbia. If the threshold is met, this system will automatically issue an intrusive alert message to cellphones in areas expected to be affected, before strong shaking is felt. This alert message provides precious seconds of warning for people to better protect themselves and others.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is responsible for sending intrusive alerts to cellphones for tornados, hurricanes, severe thunderstorms and storms surges. Police are responsible for alerts for civil emergencies and Amber Alerts.
During the 2023 and 2024 wildfire seasons, tens of thousands of people were asked to evacuate on short notice due to the threat of wildfires. B.C. Emergency Alerts were an important tool to provide people with timely, life-saving information.
People in British Columbia can participate in a short online survey after the test to help determine the reach of the test message. This survey is administered by Public Emergency Alerting Services:
Quick Facts:
- To receive alerts, cellphones must be connected to an LTE cellular network.
- Cellphones must be turned on and not set to “do not disturb” or airplane mode, be wireless public alerting (WPA) compatible, be within the alert area and have up-to-date cellular software.
- Alerts will be broadcast automatically, at no cost to the user.
- Following a 2014 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision, all radio and television broadcasters in Canada are mandated to broadcast intrusive public alerts.
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