Nationwide Alert Day
The Alert Day will be held across the country for the first time on 10th of September and from then on each year on the second Thursday in September. During the Alert Day, which is held jointly by the Federal and state governments, the full range of warning devices will be tested across Germany. At 11 am sharp, warning devices such as sirens for example, are triggered in the districts and the municipalities across the federal states.
What happens on the Nationwide Alert Day?
At 11.00 am, a test alert will be sent to all warning disseminators (e.g. radio stations, app providers) that are connected to the modular warning system (MoWaS). The warning disseminators send the test alert to their warning devices such as radios and warning apps (e.g. the warning app NINA (Federal Emergency Information and News App)) on which you can read, hear or perceive the warnings. At the same time, available warning devices (e.g. sirens and loudspeaker trucks) are triggered at the level of the states, the districts and the municipalities.
What is the idea of this Nationwide Alert Day?
The idea is of the Nationwide Alert day and the test alert is to
- raise your awareness of the issue of warning of the population,
- make the function and the procedure of the warning easier to understand,
- draw attention to the various warning devices such as sirens, smartphone apps or digital display boards.
The Nationwide Alert Day is designed to increase your knowledge of warnings in emergencies and thus support your ability to protect yourselve and others. It is also a way to familiarise the public with the now uniform siren signals.
Who runs the Nationwide Alert Day?
Preparations for the Alert Day are made by the Federal and state governments in a joint endeavour with local councils. At the national level, responsibility lies with BBK, the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, whilst the states are tasking this to their respective Ministry of the Interior. Local government agencies with a constitutional role in emergency management are involved as well.