MP urges faster emergency alerts after 45-minute gas warning

It took 45 minutes to warn residents in Eyjafjörður about gas pollution during the Holuhraun eruption, MP Víðir Reynisson said, according to mbl.is. He called for faster implementation of a system that could send alerts simultaneously to every mobile phone in a defined area or across the country.

Reynisson made the remarks during a parliamentary session on Tuesday. He said Iceland still relies on conventional SMS alerts, which can delay warnings to the public.

Messages sent through the traditional SMS system enter the same queue, he said. Sending alerts to the public could therefore delay notifications to emergency responders who need to act at the same time.

Reynisson said Nordic countries and others had introduced systems that can send messages simultaneously to all mobile phones in a selected area or an entire country. During tests in Norway, alerts reached every phone in the country within seconds.

“A new system that sends messages to all phones at the same time is an important and necessary project that must be expedited in the interests of national security,” he said.

He also said accurate information was essential to resilience and national security, helping people make decisions and respond appropriately. A civil protection information booklet due to be released soon will explain how individuals and families can prepare for disasters that could cause widespread disruption, he said.

Reynisson said the booklet would be a good start in encouraging the public to prepare. In a country facing near-constant natural hazards, he added, information must be shared regularly and delivered quickly and reliably when needed.