Britain’s emergency text alert is a signal of something bigger

The British can talk for hours about mundanities, from the best car-journey routes to the weather. Lately pubs and coffee shops have quivered in anticipation of a text. At 3pm on April 23rd mobile phones across Britain will beep and buzz for up to ten seconds, in a test of the government’s new emergency-alerts system. In a real crisis the alerts will warn citizens of imminent threats to life in their area, such as wildfires or floods, and offer practical instructions (like “Prepare for evacuation” or “Don’t open the window”).