After five months of intense experimentation throughout the Italian territory, the phase of IT-Alert test finally ended with the last alarm triggered on 13 October in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, in the heart of Trentino Alto Adige. This new public warning system, developed with great commitment by the Civil Protection, is about to enter its operational phase, promising an important revolution in the management of emergencies and natural disasters. But when will it be active?
IT-Alert, all the details
The wait is about to end. IT-Alert, with its distinctive sound, will officially start working from February 2024, offering an effective warning network for the Italian population. This system, which is based on the use of smartphones, was designed to ensure timely warning of imminent dangers, allowing everyone who owns a smartphone to receive crucial real-time information for their safety.
La testing of IT-Alert it affected all Italian regions, with the first test conducted on 28 June in Tuscany. Over the next five months, the alarm sounded throughout the country according to a timetable prepared by the Civil protection. Although in most cases the experimentation was positive, it is natural that some technical problems occurred. Some users may not have received the notification, while for others, the alarm sound may never have stopped. Furthermore, there have been incidents where the alarm was triggered in the wrong regions. For example, during the test in Lazio, the alarm was sounded twice, while in Campania there was one problem with the questionnaire, where users reported a error message.
The goals
The main objective of IT-Alert is to minimize individual and collective exposure to dangers, thus contributing to saving lives catastrophic events as:
- Tsunamis caused by earthquakes.
- Collapse of large dams.
- Volcanic activities, with a focus on the volcanoes Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei, Vulcano and Stromboli.
- Nuclear accidents or radiological emergency situations.
- Significant accidents in structures subject to the legislative decree of 26 June 2015, n. 105.
- Heavy rainfall.
During the test phase, Civil Protection included a questionnaire within the standard notifications, consisting of 24 questions. Some of which concerned technical aspects, such as the province in which the notification was received and the time of receipt, while others explored the emotional reactions of users when faced with a system of this type.
Over the months, around 2,5 million people filled out these questionnaires, allowing the Civil Protection to collect valuable data which was analyzed and used to improve the system. This data, processed anonymously, will be fundamental to optimizing the service and making it as effective as possible in view of its official launch, scheduled for February 2024.
