I still remember the first time I witnessed my phone blasting the emergency alarm through BC Emergency Alerts. It was for an active shooter in Langley back in Jul. 25, 2022, and while I agree that public safety emergency alerts are necessary, it was a very jarring experience. I have a background of severe anxiety, and although I’ve made huge progress and can now control my anxiety really well, there still exist circumstances that can trigger a strong anxiety attack. If the lives of many are in danger, including potentially mine, then an anxiety attack is a price I was willing to pay in exchange for preparedness. Sadly, was. Not anymore. Not after I learned how B.C. employs its emergency broadcasts.
Emergency alerts issued to cellphones in B.C. function via connection to cellphone towers providing LTE service to the affected area, this means that any cellphones connected to towers in a specific region can be alerted. One important aspect to understand is that emergency alerts in B.C. can be issued only if three criteria are met: if there is a threat to human life, if the threat is immediate, and if there are recommended actions that may save lives. I believe this is not only reasonable, but very useful as well. The problem I identified, however, is that there is no distinction in the alert’s sound regardless of the type of event happening. You will hear the same alert for an early earthquake warning — where your life could be in imminent danger — as well as for an AMBER alert. In my view, this is a critical flaw.
I think notifying the entirety of the province for a child abduction using the same emergency notification system to use for an imminent public catastrophe is a massive disservice to both AMBER alerts and mass emergency life threat alerts. This happened for the AMBER alert issued at around 1:25 a.m. on May 11, 2026, let’s start by focusing on the widespread effects of using this specific alarm for a child abduction.
There’s a reflex in mammals called the startle response — it can be triggered by visual, acoustic, and tactile signals. It can increase responsiveness during fight or flight events, where one’s life may be in danger. Warning alarms are intentionally loud, intermittent, and designed to trigger a strong response. I couldn’t help but wonder what the potential danger is of having a kidnapper being startled by such an alarm, and a subsequent fight or flight response influencing an impulsive reaction that could potentially mean more harm for the affected kids.
The purpose of AMBER alerts is to serve as an early warning system for child abduction cases, and to involve as many community members as possible to assist in the search of the missing children, and I completely agree with this. It is important to alert the community affected by the incident as quickly as possible for them to take action, but I believe there are flaws in this system. Firstly, members beyond the affected area were alerted — the abduction of May 11 took place in Terrace, B.C., about a 14 hour drive from the Mainland, where the majority of the population were likely powerless to provide any assistance for an incident that far out. Secondly, the alarm used was the same sound type as an imminent life threatening warning, which is capable of evoking very strong and prompt reactions. I was among those whose bodies reacted quicker than they could rationalize in order to turn off the startling noise quickly, only to find the notification disappeared right after.
I was only able to read it after researching for 20 minutes on how to find it. I don’t think the average person would take the time to do this, which is unfortunate because then the message is lost.
I think there needs to be a rework of the emergency broadcast system. I don’t think it is ideal to use the same sound for circumstances that demand very different reactions. Personally, I don’t think a sound designed to let me know I need to get out of my house right then and there should be the same one used to ask a community to be attentive of an abduction, let alone the entirety of the province. If the intention was to notify those who were already awake and on the streets to keep an eye out, then there should exist different alerts or sounds for every situation that adjust for the type of response that is needed from the public. I think they should be more localized to increase effectiveness and avoid public desensitization to the alarm that is designed to elicit strong, immediate responses. Allowing each alarm system to have their own identity would give both systems the distinction and respect they deserve.
