On Saturday, the annual civil protection alarm took place across Austria. A total of 8,302 sirens were tested for functionality, of which 99.57 percent (8,266 sirens) worked properly. According to the Interior Ministry, there were no disruptions in Burgenland and Vorarlberg, one each in Vienna, Upper Austria and Tyrol, and three in Salzburg and Carinthia. Ten sirens remained silent in Lower Austria and 17 in Styria.
The 36 failures accounted for 0.43 percent. In the previous year, the failure rate was 0.62 percent or 52 sirens. “I would like to thank all members of the blue light and volunteer organizations and the members of the army for their great efforts,” said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) after the successful exercise.
Austria has an extensive warning and alarm system, which is operated by the Ministry of the Interior together with the offices of the state governments and is currently being further developed to include the possibility of SMS alerts: “Austria is one of the few countries with a national siren warning.”
“Warning”, “Alert” and “All Cleared”
Between 12:00 and 12:45, after the “siren test” signal, the three civil defense signals “warning”, “alarm” and “all free” were broadcast throughout Austria. The test alarm serves on the one hand to check the technical equipment of the warning and alarm system, on the other hand to familiarize the public with these signals and their meaning.
Depending on the dangerous situation, the signals are activated centrally by the Federal Warning Center in the Operation and Coordination Center (EKC) of the Ministry of the Interior, by the state warning centers of the individual states or by the district warning centers. This year, another test was launched via the new app-based population alert system “KATWARN Österreich/Austria”, which is available free of charge for smartphones, as well as as an SMS and e-mail service.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
