Latvia's cell broadcast works as actively as Liepāja's wind: seven times in six months

Latvia's cell broadcast system, which cost 3.4 million euros, has proven its effectiveness since July by activating seven times. That's almost as often as Liepāja's wind forcibly changes hairstyles for the city's residents – except our wind works for free and isn't funded by ERDF money.

Some notifications were sent about severe frost, and as it turns out, this winter with its frosts has been deadlier than floods or storms. Twenty people have frozen to death, which makes one wonder if it wouldn't have been more practical to invest those millions in warm socks and tea for all Latvian residents.

Cell broadcast notifications appear in a special format with a distinctive sound signal that cannot be modified or forwarded. So if you have grandma's phone that usually just calls and sends text messages, but suddenly starts screaming about a dangerous situation, don't be afraid – that's not a glitch, but 21st century technology in action.

"I think it's a good investment," says Liepāja resident Artūrs. "Now at least I officially find out when it's cold, instead of just feeling it on my skin when I run outside without a jacket. And compared to our wind, which warns about everything and nothing, this system seems pretty quiet."

The system works like radio and doesn't interfere with regular communication. The only thing that's interfering now is the awareness that every time the phone starts roaring about weather conditions, it costs part of those 3.4 million that could have been invested in, for example, improving Liepāja's sidewalks so they'd be less slippery during icy weather.