The country needs more sirens! That was the motto last summer. After discussions about inadequate warnings to citizens about natural disasters in West Germany, the Bavarian cabinet decided to restore the siren. Up until the 1990s there was still a nationwide organized network, after the end of the Cold War the systems were offered by the federal government to the municipalities. The danger seemed far away, sirens were increasingly no longer maintained or removed, and a gradual decline followed. In any case, Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) announced in July that Bavaria wanted to double the number of sirens to around 26,000 – in addition to digital methods. It was noticed that the analogue warning, for example in the middle of the night and independent of mobile phones and media, was “the most important acoustic means”. He did not give a deadline for the project. Probably with good reason.
What has happened a good six months later? Very little. When asked by the SZ, the Ministry of the Interior cannot report on any major constructions in the country, “we expect a process lasting several years”. The key question is: Who pays? According to the Ministry’s forecast, a small funding program from the Free State will support around 50 so-called mobile sirens in 2022. Peanuts, given the doubling target. The Free State also maintains a special funding program for digital radio for fire brigades, which could make their old sirens work in order to then also send general warning signals. Above all, however, the state government now sees the federal government as having an obligation: 13.4 million euros are received from its current funding program; “however, only 1,000 new siren systems could be installed with it”. Herrmann demands a continuation beyond 2022 and a significant increase. Bavaria needs between 130 and 200 million euros for nationwide equipment, “about ten times the amount provided to us”.
The state government should act instead of constantly calling for help from Berlin
Before a hearing in the state parliament on civil protection, criticism of the lack of progress is now being raised. This Wednesday, experts will speak in the interior committee about the requirements for training and equipment – sirens will also be an issue. “The urgently needed expansion of the sirens in Bavaria has been announced for months, but almost nothing has happened,” says Johannes Becher, a municipal expert for the Greens parliamentary group. “Instead of constantly calling for help from Berlin, it would be high time for the state government to act itself.” Suddenly there is no longer any talk of a separate, larger state program, like in the summer. “The next catastrophe will definitely come and in times of climate change it will probably be more frequent and more severe in the future.” The FDP MP Alexander Muthmann also says: “We need the good old warning siren.” The fact that the Free State is leaning back is not okay – there must be a joint solution from the state and federal government, but under no circumstances should the issue be “offloaded to the municipalities”.
According to media reports, the Bavarian Community Day recently spoke out with this concern. A completely new siren costs up to 25,000 euros, and the municipalities always have to pay extra anyway, although civil protection is not their original task, it said: “Many municipalities find it cheeky that they now have to deal with the failures of the federal and state governments .” The funding now available – from the federal government, that from the Free State is hardly significant – is far from sufficient. In addition to around 11,000 classic sirens in municipalities, the inventory estimate from the summer also included the aforementioned fire brigade sirens, which are sometimes used in rural areas to alert emergency services or as a reserve if the “beeper” goes on strike. In addition, there are 2,500 sirens in the vicinity of nuclear facilities or companies that fall under the so-called Major Accidents Ordinance. When the sirens remained silent in many places in Bavaria during a nationwide “Warning Day” in 2020, the topic had already come onto the agenda. Even then, after the flop, not much happened.
Finding a location is often difficult due to conflicts with local residents
Other problems besides the financing, which can be heard from municipalities: difficult location search and conflicts with local residents. Nobody wants it howling next door, even if it’s just to try it out. Or scarce availability of sirens on the market because of the increased awareness of the problem – which in turn leads to longer waiting times. The ministry also mentions both of these in response to the SZ inquiry as reasons why the goal of doubling the number cannot be implemented so quickly. The providers of siren systems have received a lot of inquiries from communities all over Germany, but it is assumed that the manufacturers will “react and expand capacities”. And: The specific location for the sirens and structural issues “can only be determined by the municipalities, which is why they are called upon to deal with their individual needs”.
Bavaria is currently chairing the conference of interior ministers, and Joachim Herrmann also wants to “address” the financial demands on the federal government in this way. In the state parliament in Munich, however, the question is likely to continue to arise as to whether the Free State itself is doing enough.