Czechia's new emergency warning system will prepare people for crisis

The Czech Interior Ministry confirmed Dec. 4 that a new mobile-phone emergency warning system will begin operating nationwide in the second half of next year.

The system, known as Cell Broadcast, will send rapid, location-based alerts to all mobile phones in a threatened area.

Officials say such a system is urgently needed in light of last year’s floods and the mass shooting at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University.

For people living in Czechia, the system aims to overcome the limits of the current localized SMS method, which officials say became overloaded during recent emergencies.

According to the ministry, Cell Broadcast “will allow a warning message to be sent to all mobile phones in the threatened area within a few seconds, while also including clear instructions on recommended behavior.” 

The Interior Ministry adds: "Typical situations for the use of Cell Broadcast include floods, large-scale fires, large-scale power or water outages, leaks of dangerous chemicals, explosion hazards, or even violent attacks."

Cell Broadcast is integrated into all mobiles with Android and iOS, meaning users don’t need to install any new application for basic alerts to work. The Czech authorities have not yet indicated that alerts will be multilingual.

Officials cited problems with the current emergency warning system during the 2024 floods, when the SMS-based alert system “reached its limits.”

Mobile networks can send up to 200,000 messages at a time, but capacity issues caused delays that officials want to avoid in future crises.

Interior Ministry spokesman Adam Rözler said crisis management offices will request alerts, and the National Operations and Information Center will give the final approval before any warning is sent.

Rözler added that the system could later expand to additional channels, including mobile apps, city and transport information boards, crisis-management platforms, and social networks.