How to check whether your iPhone can receive emergency alerts as ex-FBI boss issues warning
After a former FBI boss urged people in the US to stockpile at least three days worth of food in case of a disaster, some are questioning whether they need to set up emergency alerts on their phones.
This comes after Dan Bongino, former deputy director of the FBI, spoke about the need for Americans to create an emergency stash of food on an episode of his podcast, The Dan Bongino Show, where he said: “Have yourself an emergency radio, have yourself some batteries, get yourself some emergency food, get yourself a rain collection and water filtration, some filtration tablets.”
The official went on to urge people to ‘do it for your family’, adding: “The best day of your life, you don’t need them. And in 10 years, you’re like, ‘Ah, I wasted $1,000 or whatever’. The worst day in your life is your kids looking you in the face like, ‘Hey Dad, Mom, where’s the water?’ And, ‘Well, we don’t have any’.
“Please, do it for everyone. Your neighbors are not going to have any extra food.”
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The US federal government, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Ready.gov, advises households to prepare by stockpiling a basic disaster supplies kit with enough food, water, and emergency gear to last for at least three days, and ideally up to two weeks for sheltering needs.
This includes up to one gallon of water per person, per day for drinking and sanitation, as well as a multi-day supply of non-perishable foods like canned goods, protein bars, and peanut butter that can be eaten without cooking.
Checking if your iPhone can receive emergency alerts
This has led to many questions about how people can receive emergency alerts on their smartphones so that they can be prepared in the event of a crisis.
For the iPhone, you can receive emergency, government and public safety alerts. According to Apple, you can check if your alerts are switched by heading to the Settings app on your device followed by Notifications.
From there, scroll to the bottom of the screen and select Government Alerts. You should be able to see if the alerts are turned on, with the option to do so if not.
Setting up alerts on your Android
Similarly, with Android, you will also be able to receive urgent alerts direct to your device. To check your settings on this, go to your Settings app and click on Safety and Emergency.
From there, you should see a toggle that allows you to turn the alerts on and off.