Emergency test alert will beep-beep-beep in B.C. on Wednesday

If your phone or television suddenly displays a text message or starts beeping on Wednesday afternoon, don’t be too alarmed.

The B.C. Emergency Alert system is set to send alerts on May 10 at 1:55 PDT that will bombard everyone with a cellphone or anyone listening to radio or watching TV with a test warning.

While it might be a bit of a mild shock or annoyance, it’s better to receive one than not — which would indicate the system isn’t working as intended.

The test will include an alert tone and this message as a text, or over the airwaves:

“This is a TEST of the B.C. Emergency Alert system. This is ONLY a TEST. In an emergency, this message would provide safety information that could save your life. Visit emergencyinfobc.ca to learn more. Again, this is ONLY a TEST. No action is required.”