The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has teamed up with public broadcaster MediaCorp to launch an emergency broadcasting system.

The platform allows the SCDF to override all of MediaCorp’s radio and television programmes when necessary to relay emergency messages.

In a speech, Second Minister for Home Affairs, S Iswaran said the system would only be used if there was an incident that threatened the lives of the population, such as a chemical leak.

The system received its first live test on Sunday, which was Singapore’s Civil Defence Day.