Several people on Thursday received "Emergency Alert - Severe" notification on their mobile phone.
Not knowing what it was about, panicked citizens took to Twitter to know more about it.
"This is a test alert from Department of Telecommunication, Government of India," the notification stated along with the date and time it was issued.
According to a report in Pune Mirror, there is nothing to be sceptical about, as these are not fraud alerts. "The Government has started wireless signals to tackle emergencies and alert the citizens," the report said.
Got this notification on my phone with a massive vibration. What is the emergency alert? pic.twitter.com/PSgaJsHeBe
July 20, 2023@DoT_India
July 20, 2023
received this notification several times.
Please confirm that's it's nothing serious??
Many of us in society just got this notification on their respective mobile phones!!!??? pic.twitter.com/wNc10brghc@pbhushan1 Hello sir, today I received an emergency alert message from department of telecommunication at 10.20 AM. Has the GOI started doing serveillance of their own employees like *Pegasus* manner.
July 20, 2023
Attached Screenshots pic.twitter.com/nuMJcC1ltbIf such a message rings, don't panic. This was a test alert. Government and wireless communication department, some important updates from the Government of India in the future means heavy rain / earthquake / medical updates will be received in such form.⭕📳 pic.twitter.com/xHHgS3X05c
July 20, 2023@GoI_MeitY Sir, I got an alert message at 10.20 am, so I am very confused. I suspect my phone is not hacked. Please guide me @MIB_India pic.twitter.com/nliiKqImmZ
July 20, 2023What Are Wireless Emergency Alerts?
Sanjay Shintre, Superintendent of Police, Maharashtra Cyber Division told Lokmat that this pop-up has been created to warn citizens of heavy rains. This message is being sent by all telecom companies and there is no reason to worry or panic.
The Maharashtra Cyber division said that the message is to only warn citizens to be careful as there can be a threat to life due to heavy rains. It beseeched citizens to not panic about the message but to understand that it is only for the safety of the public.
Rains in Mumbai, Pune
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and adjoining Thane and Palghar districts on Wednesday, disrupting suburban rail traffic and causing water-logging in low-lying areas from where people were evacuated.
Some talukas in Pune district such as Ambegaon, Khed, Junnar, Bhor, Purandar, Mulshi and Maval have declared a two-day holiday for schools. Around 355 schools did not open on Thursday, and will also remain closed on Friday.
⚠️ #RedAlert ⚠️#Konkan & #Goa and #MadhyaMaharashtra are likely to get Heavy to Very heavy with Extremely heavy rainfall (more than 204.4 mm) on 20th and 21st July.#monsoon2023 #weather #WeatherUpdate #rain #monsoonseason@moesgoi @DDNewslive @airnewsalerts@ndmaindia pic.twitter.com/7U1c3VHcLL
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