Emergency Mobile Alert

Find out about Emergency Mobile Alert. Emergency Mobile Alerts keep people safe. Alerts are broadcast to all capable phones from targeted cell towers.

About Emergency Mobile Alert

Emergency Mobile Alerts are messages about emergencies. They are sent by authorised emergency agencies to mobile phones.

The alerts keep people safe and are broadcast to all capable phones from targeted cell towers to areas affected by serious hazards. If you are out of mobile coverage, mobile phone towers are damaged or if there is a power outage, you may not receive the alert. For this reason, you must also always rely on other information sources.

Emergency Mobile Alert is only one way of finding out about serious threats. Make sure you have an emergency plan and know where to find more information during an emergency.

Our 2022 Emergency preparedness survey shows that over 88% of people in New Zealand received the test or was with someone who did. In an emergency, if you receive an alert make sure you let the people around you know.

The alerts will only be sent when there are serious threats to life, health or property, and, in some cases, for test purposes. For example, Emergency Mobile Alert may be used to warn you of serious threats such as:
- a tsunami affecting land areas
- a wildfire affecting people
- armed offenders at large, or
- seriously contaminated drinking water.
Emergency Mobile Alerts will not be used for advertising or promotion
Only authorised emergency agencies can send Emergency Mobile Alerts. Agencies will only send alerts when there is a serious threat to life, health or property. Agencies may also send scheduled test alerts.

The only agencies currently authorised to issue alerts are:
- New Zealand Police
- Fire and Emergency New Zealand
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry for Primary Industries
- National Emergency Management Agency
- Local Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups.
The alert message will identify the agency sending the Emergency Mobile Alert.
As Emergency Mobile Alert is about keeping you safe, you won’t be able to opt out of receiving Emergency Mobile Alert.

We do not target specific phones, instead we broadcast to a targeted area that is at risk. For this reason, we are unable to exclude your specific phone. Emergency Mobile Alert does not use your mobile phone number or collect information about you.

Your phone may show optional settings used in other countries, but in New Zealand we will use a special broadcast channel that is permanently on.

Download this factsheet in English explaining the Emergency Mobile Alert system.

Emergency Mobile Alert Factsheet in English (.pdf 98kb)

pdf | 98 KB

Download this factsheet in Te Reo Māori explaining the Emergency Mobile Alert system.

Pukameka mō te Matohi Waea Pūkoro Ohotata (.pdf 81kb)

pdf | 81 KB

Other ways to stay informed

Emergency Mobile Alerts are not meant to replace other emergency alerts, or the need to take action after natural warnings.

You still need to prepare for an emergency, and you should not wait to get an alert before you act. If you feel your life is in danger, don’t wait for an official warning. Take immediate action.

Make sure you have your own emergency plan that includes:

what to do
where to go
who to go to for help, and
who you might need to look out for.

Get in touch with your local Civil Defence Emergency Management Group to find out about other alerting systems in your area.

Find your local Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group (civildefence.govt.nz)

Find your local Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group.

Stay informed (getready.govt.nz)

It's important to know the different ways you can stay informed during an emergency.

Emergency Mobile Alert Feedback

The best way to give us feedback about Emergency Mobile Alert is to fill in our survey. Information collected in this survey helps us make ongoing improvements to system.

Give feedback on Emergency Mobile Alert