Forum: Enhance emergency app and make sure people know how to respond

I was caught by surprise when the Public Warning System sirens went off on Feb 15 before remembering it was Total Defence Day (

Public Warning System sirens to go off on Feb 15: SCDF

, Feb 13).

I wouldn’t usually have bothered but with the world more volatile than before, I mentally ran through the drill on what to do. “Oh, listen to the radio.”

But I no longer have a radio at home – I suspect many others don’t either – and also don’t have the local radio app on my phone. Then I remembered the SGSecure app.

The app had, however, been offloaded in the phone due to low activity and I had to reinstall it. But even after I installed the latest version of the app, the alerts page showed an error message that the server was busy. When I tried to change the settings, the app hung and was unresponsive. Then the app crashed after a few more taps.

I wonder if we can rely on the app in times of emergency, like an invasion, especially when the usage is likely to be high then.

This leads me to ask how prepared we really are for emergency situations.

Perhaps we should learn from other countries such as Japan, where the national disaster notification system sends citizens notifications of typhoons or earthquakes even before tremors are felt.

Having a nationwide notification system here can also be useful for across-government agencies, such as for warnings on flash floods, intense rain and wind from Sumatra squalls or evacuations. SMSes and WhatsApp messages are great, but they need time to be sent through.

Perhaps the SGSecure app can be the one-stop solution, but it will need to be enhanced and stress-tested to ensure it can work when it’s most needed.

Peh Xinyi