Thousands of Bay of Plenty residents received a civil defence text message earlier today.

The successful testing of the region's text, email and social media alerting was designed to ensure that the system would work in a real emergency.

A screenshot of the email alert.

An alert was sent out by text to around 6000 individual cell phones and more than 10,000 emails, as well as featuring in Bay of Plenty Civil Defence's social media pages on Facebook and Twitter.

Regional Manager of Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Clinton Naude says the thousands who had already signed up for text or email alerts received the message.

Regular tests ensure the systems would work in a real emergency.

'We tested the text and email alert system last year,” says Clinton, 'however the system encountered some IT issues.

'We have since worked with our providers to address the problems.”

Clinton says the systems would be checked twice a year.

Anyone can sign up for a text alert or email notification in an emergency on the Bay of Plenty CDEM website at: www.bopcivildefence.govt.nz

People can also subscribe to receive texts for their local area and regional events by texting two letters to 2028.

Tauranga – text ‘TA'

Western Bay – text ‘WB'

Rotorua – text ‘RO'

Kawerau – text ‘KA'

Whakatane – text ‘WH'

Opotiki – text ‘OP'

If you sign up to any of these local areas by text, you will automatically receive messages about regional emergencies.

A sign-up text costs 20c, but there is no charge for all future texts from Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Group.