The mayor at the radio microphone – but not for casual sayings or musical announcements, but for serious emergencies: The city of Bayreuth has created the technical possibilities to be able to broadcast an emergency radio program from the town hall in the event of a major power outage.
For this purpose, the emergency power supply was upgraded and a radio antenna was installed on the roof of the town hall, a city spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Bayreuth is one of the first German cities to have such an emergency radio, it said. In the event of a blackout, the emergency radio could go on air to inform the population – via the frequency of the local station “Radio Mainwelle”.
But for this, citizens would need a radio without mains operation, i.e. with battery, dynamo or solar operation, said Mayor Thomas Ebersberger (CSU). In the event of a long-term, widespread power outage, the warning apps on cell phones would ultimately no longer be of any help because, among other things, the networks would fail.
“Therefore, emergency radio is the best way for a city to provide its citizens with ongoing information – if necessary, 24 hours a day, seven days a week – in the event of a crisis like this, which we all hope never occurs.”