Campania region of Italy schedules IT-alert test.

Italy will test its new IT-alert system in the southern Campania region around Naples on Friday 11 October at 17.00 when members of the public will receive a "TEST" message on their cell phones.

The aim is to introduce people to the public alert service, which is designed to warn of "a major emergency or an imminent or ongoing catastrophic event", as well as test the system in a specific scenario.

In this particular case the exercise will involve a text message relating to a "simulation of possible volcanic activity" at Campi Flegrei, a highly seismic zone of supervolcanic calderas near Naples.

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The message will be in Italian and English and will read: "TEST TEST Campi Flegrei Exercise 2024. This is an IT-alert TEST MESSAGE. There is an ongoing SIMULATION of possible volcanic activity at Campi Flegrei. To learn what message you will receive in case of real danger and fill out the survey, go to www.it-alert.gov.it/en  TEST TEST"

#ExeFlegrei2024: venerdì #11ottobre verrà effettuato un test #ITalert in tutta la @Reg_Campania per lo scenario di attività vulcanica ai #CampiFlegrei.
Vai alla news https://t.co/3GPsOozHUV pic.twitter.com/8eS4QL52lf

— IT-alert (@italertgov) October 7, 2024

Although the text message will be programmed for cell phones in Campania, it could potentially reach neighbouring regions due to the "overshooting" phenomenon, according to the IT-alert website.

During the exercise, the IT-alert website will display the message that citizens would receive in the event of a real emergency as well as a link to a survey that people in the affected areas will be asked to complete.