Nicosia, Cyprus. A test emergency SMS scheduled for 7pm on Wednesday caused confusion among Cyprus residents, with some reporting they received it early, late or not at all by Wednesday evening.
Message content and lack of clarity
The SMS, sent by the Civil Defence, stated: “For the purpose of prevention, citizens are advised in case they receive an SMS to take the self-protection measures as posted on the Ministry of Interior’s website.”
Although the test was announced in advance and was not to be acted on, the message did not explicitly state it was a test, leaving some recipients unclear about its nature.
Recipients report timing and delivery issues
Some recipients told the Cyprus Mail they received the SMS early, while others reported delays or no message at all as of Wednesday evening.
Members of the Cyprus Mail newsroom received messages at different times after 7pm, with one person having received no message as of 8pm.
Language and interpretation concerns
Some non-Cypriot residents told the Cyprus Mail they received texts in Greek, English or both and were unsure how to interpret them.
One Cyprus Mail reader with a Cypriot phone number and residence said they often receive scam SMS messages in Greek and might ignore a Greek-language alert for that reason.
Examples shared by residents
One resident told the Cyprus Mail they received the SMS on their Dubai number rather than their Cyprus number.
The resident said colleagues in a work group chat joked about the message, with some saying it had been a pleasure working together.
An Italian reader said that despite having three numbers—Cypriot, Dutch and Italian—they only received a Greek text on the Cypriot number at 6.33pm.
Did you receive the test emergency SMS, and if so, when and in what language?
