Luxembourg's Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that the first regional test of the LU-Alert Cell Broadcast (CB) alert channel is taking place on the morning of Monday 21 October 2024 in the canton of Mersch.
This forms part of the test week of the new public warning and information system, LU-Alert, launched on Thursday 17 October 2024.
The ministry explained that Cell Broadcast is a new, "highly intrusive" alert channel that has never before been used in the Grand Duchy. The messages transmitted by Cell Broadcast take the form of priority notifications, which are displayed on the screen of a mobile device even if it is in silent or locked mode, and are accompanied by an audible alert and vibration. After a few seconds, the sound signal stops by itself. The ministry assured the public that they should not be alarmed when they receive the alert message; instead, it can serve as an exercise to be better prepared in the event of a real situation.
The ministry also advised the following:
- since this is a test alert, there is no need to act in a certain way or adopt any particular behaviour;
- some people present in the area (in this case, the Mersch canton) may not receive the test alert message;
- in order to receive messages transmitted by Cell Broadcast, the mobile device must be up to date and operate under a version compatible with the reception of such messages by the LU-Alert system. For more information, visit the website www.lu-alert.lu and go to the section "All about LU-Alert - Warning channels".
- people may receive the test alert message even when they are not in the canton of Mersch, but in an area close to it. This is because their mobile device is connected to a relay antenna that is located in the area targeted by the test alert message.
