Where were you when the emergency alert went off? In a town where there are no sirens. Did you hear it? Yes, I heard it — my friends sent me a video. Was it loud enough? Then why didn't I hear it in my office at work? But I did hear it; I have a corner office with big windows. Why did I get the SMS so late? What time did you get your text?

Over the past few days, these questions have sparked more discussion among Estonians than even Eurovision or the shortage of tickets to the main concert of this summer's Song Festival.

The testing of the public warning system during an Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) exercise on Wednesday showed that people have high interest and expectations for these emergency alerts. In typically Estonian fashion, the expectation was for flawless execution, without realizing that a test is meant precisely to try out the system and pinpoint any weaknesses.

Yes, the sirens only got three-quarters of the job done, and they didn't sound in the promised places at the right time or at the right volume. Yes, the text messages were late, and comparing what time you received them became a kind of national pastime. And yes, now the Rescue Board and the Ministry of the Interior can start fixing the issues. That's exactly the point of the test.

Yet, one thing about the test worked quite well, arguably even flawlessly: communication.

The fact that the day emergency alerts would be tested was announced a month in advance, with nonstop radio ads and continuous media coverage, is likely what set expectations so high in the first place.

The Rescue Board's communication during the test also deserves mention, especially once issues started emerging with the morning SMS alerts. To be honest, I read about the issues with the text messages in Delfi even before the actual SMS reached my phone. Their frank admission and explanation of the faults was impressive.

Understandably, living under the shadow of war for the last three years has heightened expectations for civil defense. The results of the alert test did nothing to ease that fear. That said, it's worth looking forward to more tests like this.

In Sweden, by the way, depending on the region, such tests happen monthly, and people are used to it. That's something Estonia should consider as well: hopefully, we won't have to wait until the next Hedgehog military exercise to run another test. For that, the authority to manage and test the public warning system would need to be given to the Rescue Board instead of the EDF, as is the case now.

Given how much interest, excitement and even the almost ritualistic sense of unity this test sparked among us, I'd request that we conduct these [emergency alert] tests more often, as part of improving broad-based civil defense.

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