What's the Story with a Text Alert?

It seems there’s a bit of confusion out there about the opt-in text alert system.
When TEMO sent out the MetService Orange Heavy Rain Warning the other day, it went to more than 4000 subscribers with a less than 1% fail rate. That 1% would have been people who have left the region or discontinued their phone service.
This opt-in text alert system is completely different to the EMA national warning system that will blanket a region during an emergency and not used for warnings or watches.
TEMO group manager Ben Green urges everyone to subscribe. “It is your action to take,” he says.
“EMA alerts broadcast to geographic cell sites but has restrictions as to how and when it is used. It has to be used when the situation would require immediate action – a yellow or orange warning doesn’t meet the threshold for an EMA and would dilute the effectiveness of it.”
If you didn’t receive the text, you are not subscribed to the service, so head to https://www.gdc.govt.nz/services/Do-it-online/join-it/subscribe-to-flood-warning-alerts and fill out the form, even if you think you may have already.
“If you want to receive these texts you need to take action and subscribe – now,” says Mr Green.