site.btaBG-Alert National Early Warning System to Be Tested on Tuesday

The BG-Alert system for disseminating messages to warn the population of emergencies will be tested in several cities in Bulgaria at 11 a.m., the Interior Ministry’s Fire Safety and Civil Protection General Directorate said.

The idea is to check the functionality of the system and train the public to recognize alerts.

Local warning systems integrated in BG-Alert will also be included in order to test the integration and their functional capabilities in case an actual triggering event occurs. These systems are installed in places whose operations pose a danger of disaster.

During the test, a sound signal will be sounded via the BG-Alert acoustic devices in the cities of Sofia, Burgas, Varna, Kardzhali, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Ruse, Smolyan, Vratsa, and Stara Zagora, in municipalities in the districts of Vidin, Pernik, and Yambol, and in settlements within a 30 km radius of the Kozloduy NPP.

Text messages in Bulgarian and English will be sent to mobile devices across the country. Accompanied by a bleeping and/or vibration, the BG-Alert messages will be manageable and can be enabled/disabled by users.

Speaking at a meeting of the National Assembly’s Internal Security and Public Order Committee in late July, Interior Ministry representatives spoke of the need for clearer rules in the regulation regarding the BG-Alert system triggering. Fire chief Alexander Dzhartov said that the BG-Alert system can be triggered by mayors of municipalities, regional governors, and ministers in coordination with the Fire Safety and Civil Protection General Directorate.