Don't write off a text message from the president as a prank: It's an emergency and he might just save your life...

New SMS system will send alerts to mobiles during terrorist attacks

They'll get through even if phone lines are swamped

But citizens will be able to filter out warnings - unless they come straight from Obama



It's easy to ignore a phone message from someone you don't know that well. But when Barack Obama sends you a text, you listen.

A national emergency alert system that will send messages to mobile phones during disasters is set to launch in New York City and Washington by the end of year.

The Commercial Mobile Alert System will direct emergency messages to mobile phones in case of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other serious emergencies.

Early warning: People watch as the second of the two World Trade Center towers collapse on 9/11. A new SMS sytem will warn of an imminent attack

Citizens can opt out of receiving most of the messages, unless they are from the President himself.

'If there’s a terrorist bomb set to off in Times Square, you’d be able to tell everyone in the vicinity to get out of there,' one New York official to the New York Post.



The alert plan was approved by Congress in 2006 under the Warning Alert and Response Network Act.

Reaching people in the midst of disasters such as the September 11 terrorist attacks or Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when cell phone networks were overwhelmed or otherwise out of service, has been an ongoing concern for emergency personnel around the country.

Local and state governments have been increasingly turning to text messages to alert residents to everything from snow days closing schools to traffic blocking local roadways. But the volume of messages can be overwhelming or too late to be of much help.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski and Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Craig Fugate said the new national system will be selective in what it sends out.

'These are really focused on the highest levels of alerts, and those that require urgent action,' Mr Fugate said.

Saved: Volunteer crews rescue a family trapped by the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The new text alerts will warn of natural disasters

Attention: The Commercial Mobile Alert System will direct emergency messages to mobile phones

Mr Genachowski added that officials expect the alerts 'to be very limited'.

There will be at least three levels of messages, ranging from a critical national alert from the President to warnings about impending or occurring national disasters to alerts about missing or abducted children.



People will be able to opt out of receiving all but the presidential alerts, Mr Genachowski said.

A special chip is required to allow the phone to receive the messages, and all new phones will soon have the technology.



Some smart phones already have the chip and software updates will be available when the network goes online later this year, Mr Genachowski said.

Mr Fugate said that mobile phones turned on in the direct vicinity of a disaster - an evacuation zone, for instance - would receive a message warning them of the impending danger.



The alert would show up on the phone's front screen, instead of the traditional text message inbox, and would arrive with a distinct ring and likely a vibration.

Messages are expected to get through even if traditional phone lines are swamped.

'Network congestion in times of major disasters is a real issue,' Mr Genachowski said. 'This plan ... makes sure emergency alerts can get through even if the network is congested.'