After the UK and France both recently tested their emergency alert systems, the States of Guernsey has confirmed it has no plans to introduce similar methods here.

Instead, in the event of any island or Bailiwick wide emergency the States will use traditional and social media to update residents, along with text messages, as it did during the covid lockdowns.

Assistant Emergency Planning Officer, Derek Howlett said any type of specific emergency alert system would cost too much money so the States decided against it.

“We looked into using a system similar to the UK and France for sending emergency alerts to all mobile phones within the local networks but the costs were prohibitively expensive, and importantly there are other communication tools that we can use that are particularly effective in small communities like ours,” he said.

“Primarily, this would be on social media, for example the States of Guernsey Facebook page is followed by 40,000 people, alongside working with our colleagues in the traditional media. Additionally, we would work with local telcos to send the message directly to their customers, as an additional measure in case people hadn’t already picked up the advice from social media or the media.

“This approach was tested during the Covid pandemic and can be tested again in future as part of our emergency planning training.”

In September, the UK government sent an alert to every compatible mobile phone in the country at the same time.

The system saw phones make a loud siren-like noise while also vibrating.

The alert was issued at 15:00 on Sunday 7 September with some phones receiving it a few minutes later than others.

Mobile phones in the Bailiwick did not receive the alert but anyone from the Bailiwick who was in the UK at the time did receive it.

At the time the UK government said the Emergency Alerts system will be used to warn if there’s a danger to life nearby, including extreme weather. Regular testing ensures the system is functioning correctly, should it need to be used in a life-threatening emergency, said the government.

Meanwhile, yesterday an emergency alert signal was sent to all mobile phones within a 20km radius of Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant in Normandy.

People in Alderney and Sark were more likely to get it than people in Guernsey because of their close proximity to the French coast.

The alert was similar to the UK one in that it saw phones make a shrill sound even if they were turned off. The alert included a text message in French.