The Dutch government has announced that an NL-alert test message will be sent to mobile phones across the Netherlands at midday on Monday, December 5.
NL-Alert - an alarm system used in the Netherlands to warn members of the public of unexpected emergencies in their local area - was launched back in 2012, with this month marking the 10th anniversary of the system. According to the government, the nationwide text message alert system has been used over 1.100 times for everything from large fires to an escaped poisonous snake.
The system is tested twice a year, on the first Mondays of June and December. This means that the next test will run at midday on December 5, 2022. After today, the system will be tested again on June 5, 2023.
In order to receive an NL-alert, all you need to do is make sure that your phone is switched on. The message - which is kind of like a text message, but with an urgent alarm sound as the text tone - is free and anonymous, meaning that your telephone number remains unknown.
As Monday’s message is just a test, you won’t need to do anything. However, if you were to receive a real NL-alert, the message would also include information about what you need to do and where you can find more information about the potential risk.