Emergency broadcast system - failure to receive

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Geektastic

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#245449 4-Feb-2019 15:27

Apparently, our local council used the emergency broadcast system to inform people that there was a boil notice in place for our water (welcome to Victorian-era water treatment...) Neither my phone or my wife's phone received any message at all.

Both phones are on VF.

Given that the messages are only issued for serious matters, it isn't comforting to know that neither phone appears to get them. Both were in range all weekend.

The council man I spoke with was a bit vague about the system and wondered if we had to do something to our phones - this seems unlikely, as relying on users to do things in a scenario like that would probably result in a sub-optimal outcome.

Anyone have any thoughts on why it did not seem to work and whether there is something we should do?

1 | 2 | 3

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#2172812 4-Feb-2019 15:31

Which Phone brands and OS versions?

Jase2985

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#2172814 4-Feb-2019 15:32

you fail to list what phones you have.

if you phone is compatible with the system you shouldn't have to do anything

KrazyKid

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#2172815 4-Feb-2019 15:32

Didn't something like only 50% of the mobile phones in NZ receive the last emergency test text?
I believe it is only the newer phones.

It's a good idea that the council sent out such info by this method, but they need to use other methods as well.

Oamaru was in a similar situation recently - a conserve water notice as they has only a couple of days notice and no-one in the town realized until the ODT ran the story 3 days later!

Aredwood

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#2172816 4-Feb-2019 15:33

Did you receive the Civil Defense emergency test message previously?

Geektastic

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#2172817 4-Feb-2019 15:38

One is an Apple iPhone 7 and the other an LG G7. Both have their latest software.

Geektastic

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#2172818 4-Feb-2019 15:39

Aredwood: Did you receive the Civil Defense emergency test message previously?

Not as far as I know. When was the test?

coffeebaron

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#2172820 4-Feb-2019 15:41

Aredwood: Did you receive the Civil Defense emergency test message previously?

Ditto?

Also could depend on what cell-site phones are camped on; i.e. if rural, you could be connected to a tower outside the tower range.

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Aredwood

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#2172822 4-Feb-2019 15:44

@Geektastic it was on the 25/11/18 at approx 1815.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=42&topicid=223519&page_no=21

Geektastic

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#2172824 4-Feb-2019 15:45

KrazyKid:

Didn't something like only 50% of the mobile phones in NZ receive the last emergency test text?
I believe it is only the newer phones.

It's a good idea that the council sent out such info by this method, but they need to use other methods as well.

Oamaru was in a similar situation recently - a conserve water notice as they has only a couple of days notice and no-one in the town realized until the ODT ran the story 3 days later!

They used other methods - none of which affected us.

1) Door knocking - in the village but not to any of the addresses outside the main residential area

2) Local radio - who listens to that?

3) TV news - don't watch it (the guy actually laughed when I said it was like a student news program made in Dad's garage with a camcorder, but he was South African)

4) Letter box drops - but not to addresses outside the main residential area or to rate payers who use PO Boxes (us for example)

I pointed out that I could have been a deaf elderly person with no TV, now lying on floor with E-Coli poisoning and he did seem to accept there might be a bit of a gap in their procedures. I said surely they had a list of properties that they bill for water and since only 1500 people live in the village, the list cannot be that long. I suggested that they ought to work out which addresses might lie outside the obvious area and schedule them for staff visits in future, which he said he would take on board.

Geektastic

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#2172827 4-Feb-2019 15:49

[quote Aredwood: @Geektastic it was on the 25/11/18 at approx 1815.]

Not showing on my message history.

Geektastic

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#2172830 4-Feb-2019 15:52

coffeebaron:

Aredwood: Did you receive the Civil Defense emergency test message previously?

Ditto?

Also could depend on what cell-site phones are camped on; i.e. if rural, you could be connected to a tower outside the tower range.

Measuring on Google Maps, we are about 2200 metres from the centre of the village.