Disaster warning system via SMS

Belgium's Interior Minister Patrick Dewael plans to warn every Belgian resident via SMS in times of national emergencies. The Liberal VLD minister plans to modernise the nation's current alarm system and believes sending a mobile phone text message to every resident is the most efficient manner. How liberal is that?
However, traditional mediums for alerting the public such as sirens, radio and television will still play a role in future, newspaper 'Het Nieuwsblad' reported on Wednesday.

Sending an SMS is very quick. You can send short messages, such as: 'Keep windows and doors shut,

Dewael said. Such a system is legally and technically possible, but it is too early to estimate the costs. The system is called 'cell-broadcast'.
[Via Expatica]