Four private radio stations are now part of the national early warning system, the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), that will interrupt regular programming to carry specific emergency alerts.
The four stations, Observer Radio, Zoom Radio, God First Radio and Radio Lighthouse, have joined state-owned ABS Radio to broadcast the emergency alerts that notify residents of a pending event like a tsunami, flooding, tropical storm warning, hurricane warning, riot, civil unrest among others, the National Office of Disaster Services said in a release.
A system test is scheduled for Friday morning at 5:30 am. Prior to this, alerts were sent via smart phones, emails and ABS Radio and Television – the first media house to install the interrupts.
CAP Consultant Damian Barker, from Barbados, spent the past two days installing the interrupts at the radio stations and meeting with personnel.
A refresher training was also held with staff from NODS and the Met Office who presently send out the alerts.
Representatives from the Police and Defence forces, the Ministry of Health and the Met Office along with staff from NODS have been trained and granted access to the CAP.
Ten thousand individuals in Antigua and Barbuda have downloaded the app and presently receive the messages.