The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a news release earlier today (13 February) that the “Important Message” signal will be sounded on 15 February, Total Defence Day.
The signal will be sounded at 6.20pm through the public warning system sirens located throughout Singapore, for about a minute.
SCDF urged people not to be alarmed by the minute-long sounding exercise, which will also sound for smartphones with the SGSecure Mobile App installed that are not silenced.
The alarm will cease after 20 seconds or when the message is acknowledged, followed by a brief message on the public warning system sounding.
SCDF said: “When you hear the “Important Message” signal, tune in immediately to any local radio station or free-to-air Mediacorp TV channel for a brief message on the PWS. If you miss the message, visit go.gov.sg/pws to know more about the PWS signals.”
It is one of three signals that is sounded to alert the people to a broadcast that is important, and it is sounded every year on Total Defence Day to commemorate the day Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942.
it is also a part of the SCDF’s efforts to get the public familiar with the public warning system signals as well as to increase awareness on how the public should react when they hear it.