The UK government has finally tested its emergency alert system on Sunday, September 7.
At around 3:00 pm, the second test of the system caused millions of phones across the entire country to sound a siren and vibrated for about 10 seconds.
The message explained that the system will be used in the future to alert people "if there's a life-threatening emergency nearby."
“You do not need to take any action. In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe," the alert further read.
During England's third ODI cricket match against South Africa in Southampton, the emergency alert sounded between overs while fans were already notified about it on the stadium's big screen.
Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister, said, "Thank you for taking part in today's test, which saw tens of millions of phones successfully receive the message across the country," as per Sky News.
The purpose of this test is to ensure that the system works properly and can successfully notify people in the event of real emergency.
The Emergency Alert system was first tested across the entire UK in April 2023 when some mobile phones on the Three network didn't get the emergency alert.
Since then, it has been used five times in actual emergencies including during Storm Darragh.