Emergency SMS system to be piloted on Syros
The General Secretariat for Civil Protection said Tuesday that ahead of the full activation by the end of the year of the 112 European Union emergency number in Greece, in the event of a natural disaster, mobile phones in the affected areas will receive text messages with helpful information.
The SMS system will be activated on August 10 and the first trial run will be conducted between 2 and 4 p.m. Wednesday with messages being sent to phones in the area of the Aegean island of Syros.
The 112 hotline is a number people in the EU can call to reach the fire brigade, medical assistance and police.
However, complaints that the hotline did not function properly during recent natural disasters in Greece prompted Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to pledge earlier this month that the line will be fully operational by the end of the year.
