During the nationwide warning day this Thursday, the sirens will be heard again throughout Germany around eleven o’clock. 38,000 are available nationwide, but not everyone will cry; participation is voluntary. It will remain quiet in Munich for another reason: the state capital has not had sirens for several years. They were gradually dismantled as the Cold War ended.
But the many cell phones of Munich residents will vibrate. You receive the test alarm via warning apps such as Nina (federal emergency information and news app) or Katwarn, provided they are installed and activated on the appropriate devices. Announcements via Cell Broadcast are also planned, a mobile phone service that broadcasts messages to all recipients within a radio cell.
There are currently no plans to install sirens again in Munich, says Johannes Schorer, spokesman for the professional fire department. “We’re still doing well.” One problem is how older people and other people who do not have such apps and new technologies are aware of an emergency. But no one should feel prevented from ringing their neighbor’s doorbell and informing them.
The Munich fire department will not be using loudspeaker trucks on this day. According to the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), there are no warnings via passenger information systems at train stations and on public transport in the siren-free city. However, the test warning is also sent to radio and television stations via warning multipliers. The all-clear should be given at around 11:45 a.m., but not yet via cell broadcast. The possibility of this is currently still being examined.
The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior lists Aying, Neubiberg and Ottobrunn with sirens and Unterschleißheim with mobile systems as participating municipalities in the Munich district. The BKK also points out that children, refugees from war zones and other people who have experienced war should be informed that there is no danger and that it is just a technical test.