Cellphones in Campinas are issuing an unprecedented voice warning of flooding; understand how it works

The Civil Defense of the state of São Paulo issued an unprecedented voice alert for mobile phones in Campinas (SP) on Wednesday night (25). THE The warning warned that floods and floods may occur due to excessive rainfall..

In the message sent to mobile phones in the region, it was said: “The possibility of heavy rain and the risk of floods and floods are HIGH in Campinas. Stay in a safe place.” The announcement was accompanied by a very loud whistle that was heard even when the device was silent.

This was the same alert triggered in Belo Horizonte (MG) at the beginning of the month. However, the announcement was made as part of an experiment in the capital Minas Gerais and did not pose a real risk of rain in the region.

in Campinas, Unprecedented Civil Defense action. For this reason, many residents were surprised and it created a stir on social media, especially Instagram and X.

Some factors were taken into account when triggering the audio alert:

• Orange alert for the region from Inmet (National Institute of Meteorology);
• The issuance of a HIGH risk hydrological warning for Campinas from Cemaden, an indication of the high probability of flash floods and floods;
• Indicative of an area of ​​instability with a rainfall rate of 75 millimeters towards Campinas.

The warning was issued in advance, allowing people to follow Civil Defense instructions and seek shelter in safe places.

As Inmet states, Campinas continues to expect rain over the next few days. Hydrological alert strengthens the possibility of precipitation until Friday (27).

How does the Civil Defense alarm work?

The Civil Defense alert is carried out preemptively before the consequences of the rains become apparent. THE The warning appears as a pop-up window on the mobile phone screen for 10 seconds On all devices connected to 4G and 5G networks.

In addition to the explanation, alert makes a loud sound even when the device is on silent or without credit.

There are currently two types of alerts: The first is the “Extreme Alert”, which is accompanied by a siren-like sound signal, calling for immediate action to protect oneself at that moment; the second is “Serious Warning”; this is less urgent and is accompanied by a “beep” sound.