E-ALERT. Last weekend, the emergency warning system was in the middle of a controversy after a message was sent in Bucharest asking people not to call 112 for problems related to fallen trees. Raed Arafat explained today that the decision behind the message sent through RO-ALERT came after the number of calls per hour received at 112 increased from 200-400 calls to 3100 calls, a huge increase.
E-ALERT. Although the employees working at 112, ISU, or DSU doubled, the number of calls was too high to be covered, and there is a risk that people whose lives are in danger will not receive help because of those who called to report fallen trees. In order to prevent tragedies, Raed Arafat says that the decision was made to use RO-ALERT to send the message intended to inform people not to call 112 unless they have a real emergency.
RO-ALERT and Raed Arafat's explanations for the message from Bucharest
E-ALERT. Some of those who live in Bucharest did not receive the messages, and Raed Arafat says that everything is based on the fact that they did not activate the alerts, but I activated them on my iPhone, with iOS 12.1.2, and still I did not receive anything. Normally, all iPhone and Android phones should have RO-ALERT alerts automatically activated already, but if you haven't received them, then probably a reinstallation of the operating system, without restoring a backup, will be used.
I can tell you that in a single hour, about 3.100 calls came in, in a single hour, to a dispatcher that, as a rule, receives about 200-400 phone calls per hour. We doubled the staff there, we doubled with colleagues from STS at 112, we doubled at ISU, we doubled the intervention staff, an entire shift came from home. The message we gave in Bucharest was not to alert the population, it was to ask the population to use 112 more correctly and to unblock or reduce the impact on 112 so that they can respond to real emergencies.
E-ALERT. Although the system was created for much more dangerous warnings, in this situation there is a danger that some people's lives cannot be saved due to the overloading of the 112 dispatcher. If you got upset and deactivated the alerts for RO-ALERT after receiving the message from weekend, then maybe it would be good to think again and activate them, because you will also receive those alerts meant to save your life.
