BERLIN: Germany carried out a nationwide emergency warning exercise on Thursday, testing sirens, smartphone alerts and other systems designed to reach the public during major disasters or security threats.
Warnings were distributed through television and radio broadcasts, smartphone notifications, Cell Broadcast, official warning apps and digital information boards in cities. In participating municipalities, sirens, loudspeaker vehicles and other local alert systems were also activated.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the drill demonstrated that Germany’s warning infrastructure was functioning effectively.
“Today’s nationwide warning day shows our warning systems function reliably, reach our population in the most varied ways and are an important part of our high-performing civil protection,” he said.
Grit Tuengler, president of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, or BBK, described the exercise as a success, saying the federal warning network and its linked channels were capable of reaching millions of people in an emergency.
She also thanked municipalities, mobile network operators and technical service providers involved in the test.
Germany introduced the nationwide warning day after concerns over the effectiveness of its civil protection systems. The first national test in September 2020 was widely criticised after technical failures prevented alerts from reaching many people as intended. The exercise was suspended the following year before resuming annually from 2022.
Officials say the warning network is intended for a broad range of emergencies, including severe natural disasters, major infrastructure incidents and potential military threats.
The BBK has asked residents to provide feedback on whether and how they received the alerts. Officials said the responses would be scientifically evaluated and used to identify weaknesses and improve the system further.