IT-alert, the warning system restarts its testing activities in Sardinia on May 15
The test message will simulate an earthquake-generated tsunami in the areas of Orosei, Siniscola, and Posada in the province of Nuoro
An IT-alert test will be conducted in Sardinia on May 15, 2024, starting from 11 a.m. The test will simulate an earthquake-generated tsunami affecting the municipalities of Orosei, Siniscola, and Posada in the province of Nuoro.
The IT-alert system is not yet operational for all scenarios under the February 7, 2023 Directive issued by the Minister for Civil Protection and Sea Policies. Further analysis and testing were required for the risk scenarios associated with earthquake-generated tsunamis, heavy rainfall, and Stromboli volcanic activity, which led to the extension of the experimental phase.
The text of the message that the involved population will receive will read as follows:
TEST TEST IT-alert message. There is an ongoing SIMULATION of an earthquake-generated tsunami in the area where you are. To learn what message you will receive in case of real danger and to fill out the survey, go to www.it-alert.gov.it/en TEST TEST
On the day of the test, citizens will be able to access a dedicated page from the website's homepage. This page will contain the text of the message that will be sent in case of a real danger, along with a link to a survey. Citizens in the affected areas are encouraged to fill out the survey, even if they do not receive any notification.
The notification will reach switched-on and connected cell phones located in the target areas.
The test date may be subject to change if regional civil protection systems are involved in activities related to ongoing meteo-hydro alerts or emergencies.
An earthquake-generated tsunami is a series of sea waves generated by the rapid displacement of a large mass of water due to a strong earthquake with an epicenter at sea or near the coast.
The Italian national early warning system for tsunami risk is regulated by the Directive of the President of the Council of Ministers of February 17, 2017, establishing the National Alert System for Tsunami waves generated by earthquakes in the Mediterranean Sea (SiAM) as well as the Decree of the Head of the Department of Civil Protection, issued on October 2, 2018.
The SiAM, which operates through the Tsunami Alert Centre (CAT) of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), and the Department of Civil Protection, is in charge of seismic monitoring, evaluates the possibility that an earthquake could generate a tsunami, assesses alert levels along exposed coastlines and delivers alert messages to the relevant authorities.
Based on the estimated severity of the tsunami, the System foresees two alert levels, orange and red, for the Italian coastlines. In the event of an orange or red alert, coastal zones to be evacuated are defined in the inundation maps produced by Ispra (http://sgi2.isprambiente.it/tsunamimap/), where the orange alert level is associated with alert zone 1 and the red alert level is associated with alert zone 2.
The IT-alert message involves alert zone 2 and is issued in case of red and orange alert levels and in case of cancellation when the seismic event assessed as potentially generating a tsunami did not result in the event.
Which IT-alert message will you receive in case of real danger from an earthquake-generated tsunami?
In case of real danger from an earthquake-generated tsunami, cell phones in alert zone 2 will receive such an IT-alert message:
Civil Protection Alert DD/MM/YY at 00:00 - Possible earthquake-generated TSUNAMI waves with epicenter in [Nation (abroad) or province of (in Italy)]. STAY AWAY FROM THE SEA and move quickly to high ground. If you are on a boat, stay away from the coast. Keep up to date and follow the instructions of the authorities.
If no tsunami is generated following an earthquake, cell phones in alert zone 2 will receive such an IT-alert message:
Civil Protection Alert DD/MM/YY at 00:00 - TSUNAMI ALERT CANCELLED
However, some devices in affected areas may not receive the message even if turned on and with a phone connection. This limitation of cell-broadcast technology is due to the impossibility of perfectly overlaying the area potentially affected by the emergency with the area covered by the antennas of the telephone operators used to transmit the messages.