Make Sure These Emergency Alerts Are Enabled on Your Phone.
When severe weather, natural disasters, and other emergencies occur, getting timely, accurate information from official sources can save lives. Your smartphone can alert you to everything from public safety threats like major power outages to impending threats like flash floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes, giving you the power to avoid danger.
Of course, you should also be aware of the weather conditions in your area, especially during periods of known severe weather, and have various emergency kits and the best mobile apps on hand to navigate any kind of emergency . But if you only do one thing, turn on these important alerts on your iPhone or Android.
How to Turn on Emergency Alerts on iPhone
Government alerts, including public safety alerts, emergency alerts, and AMBER alerts, are turned on by default on your iPhone. To make sure they’re on, go to Settings > Notifications and scroll down to the Government Alerts section, where you can turn the alerts on or off. There’s also a toggle for Test Alerts — system tests conducted by state and local emergency management agencies — which are off by default.
Tap Emergency Alerts to open an additional menu with toggles for Local Event Alerts (which improves the accuracy and timeliness of alerts targeted to your region, such as earthquake alerts in California, Oregon, and Washington) and Always Play Sound (recommended, as this ensures you’ll hear alerts even if your device is on silent).
As the California Learning Resource Network notes , emergency or imminent threat alerts on iOS include severe weather or disaster warnings issued by the National Weather Service and state and local governments, while public safety alerts cover civil emergencies, power outages, and hazardous materials incidents. All devices receive alerts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the event of a national emergency.
How to Enable Emergency Alerts on Android
Android users can turn on government emergency alerts in Settings > Security & Emergency > Wireless Emergency Alerts . You can also search for “wireless emergency alerts.” Toggle the switch next to the alerts you want to receive (these include all the same options as on iOS).
Google also has a built-in earthquake alert system for Android that detects and alerts you to the strongest tremors based on accelerometer data collected from users’ devices. The alerts are on by default (see Settings > Security & emergency > Earthquake alerts ) and include messages advising you to “stay alert” or “take action.” Notifications will appear even if Do Not Disturb mode is on. While Google’s system is rolling out to all Android devices, Samsung Galaxy users will soon be able to get even more granular earthquake alert settings.
Subscribe to other alert services
While your phone’s built-in alerts are just the basics, it’s a good idea to have a backup so you don’t miss important information. The FEMA app lets you set your primary location and desired emergency alerts, while apps like Storm Shield and NOAA Weather Radar & Forecast ( iOS , Android ) provide detailed real-time weather information with push notifications for multiple locations.
You should check for emergency alerts in your city or county, which may contain more local information on everything from extreme weather to traffic and road conditions, in addition to what is already sent out through government alerts.