West Flanders to send province-wide BE-Alert text to everyone present during code orange weather
West Flanders province plans to send an official BE-Alert SMS to every mobile phone physically present in the province whenever a code orange weather warning is issued, according to VRT NWS.
In 30 seconds
- West Flanders plans to send a BE-Alert SMS to every mobile phone present in the province during a code orange weather warning, per VRT NWS.
- The location-based alert would reach people without requiring prior registration for BE-Alert.
- Code orange is Belgium's second-highest weather-warning level, indicating potentially dangerous conditions.
- BE-Alert is operated nationally by the federal Crisis Centre and has been in use since 2017.
BE-Alert is Belgium's national public-warning system, run by the federal Crisis Centre (Nationaal Crisiscentrum / NCCN), used by authorities to warn the population during emergencies such as severe weather, fires or industrial incidents. It can notify people through registered channels (SMS, voice call, email) and through location-based SMS that reaches all mobile phones present in a defined area. 'Code orange' is a weather-warning level used in Belgium to indicate potentially dangerous conditions, one step below the maximum code red. West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen) is Belgium's westernmost province, encompassing the North Sea coast and cities including Bruges, Kortrijk and Ostend.
Background
BE-Alert was rolled out nationally in Belgium in 2017 as a replacement for older, ad-hoc emergency-warning methods, and has since been used for incidents ranging from major fires and chemical leaks to severe storms and flooding. Its effectiveness has historically been constrained by the number of citizens who registered in advance, prompting growing reliance on location-based SMS that can reach unregistered phones within an affected zone.
What to do
People in West Flanders during a code orange warning may receive an official BE-Alert text without having signed up; recipients should treat such messages as genuine safety warnings and follow the instructions they contain.
Impact
Regional — Every person physically present in West Flanders during a code orange warning would receive the alert, including non-residents and tourists who have not signed up to BE-Alert. The coastal zone, which draws heavy seasonal visitor numbers and faces storm and flooding exposure, stands to benefit most from warnings that no longer depend on prior registration.
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- 7 Aug 2026
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This story was assembled from verified evidence, with its sources and reasoning recorded as it was written.