smartphone emergency alerts...got one yet?

[VaSteve]

Anyone got one of these alerts yet? I got a new phone 2 months ago but they startes popping up as of last weekend. Startled me at first.... now i know why they just started.

http://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/news/weather-alerts-coming-soon-smartphone-near-071141840.html?orig_host_hdr=news.yahoo.com&.intl=US&.lang=en-US

[stomachmonkey]

Have had it for a couple of years.

My town does not have tornado sirens so they have a free subscription to the service.

It's not pop up based though. It's an automated call.

Rings at the house and our cell phones.

I like that part as we know what's going on by the house even when we are not there.

[VaSteve]

I didnt even know I had it on the phone. Hence why it startled me. My wife got a new phone recently too and its not on hers. Both android.based. odd.

[VINMAN]

Yeah, I've gotten them a number of times on mine.

[Rick V]

I get weather alerts from the local TV station. They come in as text messages

[Oh Haha]

My wife has it on her phone. My phone stays downstairs but hers is our "main" one.
We've received a couple of alerts in the night recently with the crazy weather we have been experiencing.

I tell you, I might not hear the kids during the night but her alert tone wakes me right up.
We are less than a mile away from the fire dept/alert siren tower but with the windows closed sometimes we don't hear it.

[masraum]

A couple of the guys I work with have received them here at work. I don't think I've ever received one.

[azasadny]

I have local alerts for tonado warnings, fores and road closings... Comes in handy.

[NY65912]

Got one Sat afternoon, flash flood warning. I had another a few weeks ago, FF warning. I think it's a rather good idea. They're based on them knowing where you are in relation to the event, my wife did not get one although she was a few miles away.

[matthew-s]

These are most likely CMAS (Commercial Mobile Alert System). Best thought of as an extension of ye olde broadcast emergency alerts you see on TV and Radio.

They are broadcast at the cell tower level. All phones on that given cell tower will get the alert (assuming of course you have a compatible phone. only newer ones are, and not all of them)

There are three types of alerts: Imminent Threat (nasty weather and such), Amber alerts, and Presidential alerts.

You can opt-out of the Imminent Threat and Amber alerts by fiddling with your phones settings (if you so choose).

Unlike here on PARF, you can't opt-out of the Presidential alerts.

CMAS is a great thing. In an emergency, the more ways to get news out, the more likely you are to be informed.

[VaSteve]

Exactly. Problem was, both times i was on the highway. It doesnt give a location if you dont read it immediately.

I grew up in the shadow of DC. First time I heard on of those EAS/EBS alerts used was when i was in college in NC. For bad weather. Kinda a shock, i didnt know you could use it for that.

[VaSteve]

Weird. I haven't had one of these in two years (since this thread) and I just got an amber alert. I know there's been other alert worthy things in the last 2 years. Weird and inconsistent.

[HardDrive]

I got one RE a severe thunderstorm. Don't mind one bit. As long as I have control over what I get, I'm a fan.

[porsche4life]

We get them for dust storms and amber alerts in AZ.

[DonDavis]

I get the same, Sid. I'm on Sprint. Didn't intentionally sign up for it, but don't mind getting them.

[porsche4life]

Ya... The first dust storm of the year it was real nice for me. I was about a block away from Home Depot with 3 4x8 sheets of foam insulation strapped to the roof of my car when I got it. That was the cue to get the heck home! Got in the garage right as the worst hit us!

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

I got one RE a severe thunderstorm. Don't mind one bit. As long as I have control over what I get, I'm a fan.

I don't mind it. It's a little unsettling as I go to bed and hear the alert sound though. I have no idea how I can control what I get...an amber alert three hours away doesn't seem helpful. Many other big storms and stuff come through and I get nothing. Very odd.

[mattdavis11]

If they keep it up, no one will notice and therefore, react. Utterly stupid.

[gacook]

They seem a bit overkill to me.

It's currently monsoon season for us, which means rain every afternoon--and generally, lots of it coming down hard. I was at my son's Taekwondo practice last week and one of the moms there apparently had this, as her phone was going off with the alert literally every minute for about 10-15 minutes. It was quite aggravating.

**Edit** I really think this is pretty pointless in Arizona. The only "bad weather" we get is monsoon season, and monsoon season is like clockwork. You know exactly what time the rain (or dust storms) are going to come rolling in...every day. So, needing to be "alerted" to this fact is kinda unnecessary unless you're brand new here and have never been through monsoon season.

[masraum]

You can turn that crap off. I've turned off everything but the presidential alerts because I can't turn those off.