A series of emergency warnings jolted mobile phones overnight, from storm surge warnings to storm signals due to Typhoon Ulysses (international name: Vamco). Who's behind it? Twitterverse's textmate, the NDRRMC.
The government's disaster response council made it to the top trends on Twitter on Wednesday, as people shared mixed feelings over their emergency texts which jolted some from their sleep.
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But no matter the public scrutiny, these emergency alerts are here to stay as mandated by the Free Mobile Disaster Alerts Act of 2014. Telcos are required to send free mobile alerts as long as natural and man-made disasters and calamities threaten the Philippines.
According to Twitter user, @MightyMonita, the NDRRMC's alerts should move people to prepare. It shouldn't scare people.
In the past, NDRRMC's public service warning system was scrutinized for falling behind real time. Not on Wednesday, as Ulysses moved closer.
This week, people on Twitter noted how NDRRMC have been sending updates real time as soon as the specific warnings get issued by assigned agencies such as PAGASA.
Here are some of NDRRMC's text warnings for Typhoon Ulysses:
In case you wanna opt-out
Just in case the warnings get unbearable, there still a way to turn it off.
For IOS users:
- Go to Settings
- Find the Notifications tab
- At the very bottom of the list, you'll find the Government Alerts section where you may switch off Emergency Elerts.
For Android users:
- Go to Settings
- Find Sounds & vibration
- Click More sound settings
- Choose which emergency alerts you want turned off
Settings may vary per phone but in general, these alerts can be turned on and off through the sound/notifications settings.
