IT-Alert scheduled in Aprilia for 09.00.

Italy's new IT-alert system will be tested in the central Lazio region on Tuesday 3 December at 09.00 when the public will receive a "test" message on their mobile phones.

Authorities will simulate a serious accident at the ACRAF chemical-pharmaceutical plant in Aprilia south of Rome, and will send the message to phones within a 3-km radius of the site.

The aim is to introduce people to the new public alert service which is designed to warn of "a major emergency or an imminent or ongoing catastrophic event", according to the IT-Alert website.

In the event of an emergency situation, IT-Alert will also offer "timely information to potentially affected people, with the aim of reducing individual and collective exposure to danger."

The message that will be sent to cellphones in Lazio on 3 December will make a different sound to usual notifications, and the system does not collect any device or location data.

No action will be required from recipients of the message other than reading it. The public will be invited to complete a questionnaire, linked to the message, which can also be used to report any problems.

IT-Alert is currently in an experimental phase however once it is up and running it will be used by Italy's civil protection authorities to warn the public of potential emergencies and disasters including a tsunami generated by an earthquake; the collapse of a large dam; volcanic activity linked to the Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei, Vulcano and Stromboli volcanoes; nuclear accidents or radiological emergency situations.

The system will be tested in the coming days in the northern Emilia-Romagna region.

For full details, in English, of how the system works see the IT-Alert website.