West Flanders to alert all residents via SMS during severe weather warnings

West Flanders is enhancing its emergency alert system to ensure all residents receive timely warnings during severe weather. The province will now send BE-Alert SMS messages to everyone within its borders when the Royal Belgian Meteorological Institute forecasts code orange or red weather conditions.

This update expands the system's reach significantly. Until this summer, the BE-Alert system was exclusively used for code red warnings, meaning only registered individuals or those in specific high-risk areas received alerts for less severe, but still dangerous, weather.

The decision aims to improve public safety by ensuring that all inhabitants of the province are informed about potential threats, regardless of their registration status. This proactive approach seeks to provide crucial advance notice, allowing individuals and authorities to prepare for and mitigate the impact of severe weather events.