The red button, which heralds the start of an improved warning system, is pressed silently – almost symbolically. Together with city representatives, the Munich transport company (MVG) and the Ströer company presented a new system on Tuesday morning at the Marienplatz underground station. Its supporting pillars will quietly warn of catastrophes in the future.
In the future, warnings from the state capital will primarily be displayed on digital information screens in underground and suburban train stations and on city information systems on the street. The display is triggered by an official warning, which will be issued by the integrated control center of the fire brigade in Munich or, in the case of nationwide warnings, by the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance.
“Communication is the be-all and end-all in crises,” said district administration officer Hanna Sammüller-Gradl and campaigned for the improved warning system. More than a million people use public transport in Munich every day. And since communication in crises has to reach as many people as possible, the warning messages on the display boards are a first step in the right direction.
The information boards are an additional building block in the message chain
The new technology offers opportunities: In the future, the warnings via the well-known warning apps Katwarn and Nina will be published almost simultaneously on the new display boards via an input mask. The city’s warning system consists of several pillars. In addition to radio reports and possible announcements with loudspeaker trucks from the fire brigade, warnings are also distributed via social networks. With the warning messages on the information boards, another important component is integrated into the warning system, it was said at the presentation on Tuesday.
It is noticeable that one of these building blocks has long since broken away. There have been no working sirens in Munich for years. After the end of the Cold War, there was no risk of military conflicts, so the siren systems were gradually dismantled.
That’s why other ways of issuing warnings to the general public are now being sought, according to Wolfgang Schäuble, head of the Munich fire department. The new warning system does not replace a classic howling siren. “It’s actually more of an additional service. With the siren warning, there is always a lot of discussion as to whether it is a contemporary medium, how it can be modernized so that it also has a certain future viability,” said Schäuble.
Nationwide warning day on Thursday
The unveiling of the improved warning system comes at a good time. On Thursday, December 8th, from 11 a.m., the next nationwide warning exercise will take place, during which warning systems will be tested throughout Germany. It remains to be seen whether everything will run smoothly in Munich. On the last warning day in September of last year, not only did the sirens remain silent in Munich, but the warning apps also failed at the time.