Bavaria: State-wide test of sirens and warning apps on Thursday – Bavaria

On Thursday, Bavaria will make up for the nationwide test alarm that was canceled two months ago. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the siren warning system should then be tested at 11 a.m. with a one-minute howling tone. In addition, the warning apps for cell phones such as Nina and Katwarn should also be tried out. In the event of serious dangers such as flooding or chemical accidents, the alarms are intended to prompt the population to switch on radios and televisions and to listen to announcements. The test alarm was originally scheduled for March, but was postponed because of the war in Ukraine. This was to avoid additional uncertainty among the population at the time.

The test alarm is also a test run for the nationwide warning day, which according to the ministry is planned for September 8, 2022. In 2020, the federal and state warning day had revealed massive deficiencies in the civil protection system in Bavaria.

In some places there were no sirens because they had been dismantled in previous decades. Many people were surprised that nothing could be heard. And the smartphone apps used as an alternative did not work everywhere either. The Federal Ministry of the Interior in Berlin described the test alarm as “failed”, the head of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance later had to go.

At the end of the Cold War, many sirens were dismantled

The warning day was then canceled last year. In addition, there were further discussions in 2021 about deficiencies in the warning systems in connection with the flood disaster in western Germany. In particular, the lack of sirens was discussed. Because after the end of the Cold War, many sirens were dismantled because they were considered unnecessary.

In Bavaria’s second largest city, on the other hand, there are still numerous facilities. “In Nuremberg, the nationwide civil protection siren network consisting of around 100 devices will be triggered for this reason,” announced the city administration of the test alarm. In the cities of Bayreuth and Rosenheim or the Lower Bavarian district of Regen, on the other hand, only the warning apps should work on mobile phones.

The dismantling of sirens has now been recognized as a problem in Germany. Now new speakers are to be installed again. Bavaria’s Ministry of the Interior has announced that it intends to double the number of sirens to around 26,000.

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