The first nationwide warning day two years ago was a flop. Now there is a second such warning day. However, this time too, not all options will be used to alert people in an emergency.
Erfurt (dpa/th) – According to the Thuringian Ministry of the Interior, the state police will also be involved on the second nationwide warning day. So that warning messages can be heard and seen in as many regions of Germany as possible on Thursday at 11 a.m., the police radio patrol cars would also be used, said a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior of the German Press Agency. As far as the officials’ orders then allowed, they should spread a test warning message over the loudspeaker systems in the cars.
Thuringia is better prepared for this second warning day than for the first in 2020. Many warnings either did not reach their intended recipients at all or only with a delay.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, sirens should be blown throughout the state for the test alarm and warning messages should be broadcast on television and radio. It is also planned, among other things, to display corresponding information on digital billboards, for example in Erfurt and Jena. In addition, the fire brigade will set up a mobile siren on the Petersberg in the state capital to spread the warning in the old town. The warning apps, which are available for numerous smartphones, should then display warning messages.
It is awaited with particular excitement how the sending of a warning message to mobile phone users will work. Similar to an SMS, this message should be sent to as many mobile phones as possible within a specific radio cell, even if the users have not installed any special software for it on their phones. “We can’t reach more people with any other warning device,” says the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance.
However, according to the information provided by the Federal Office and the Ministry of the Interior, it is already clear that not all mobile phone users will be able to receive this message. Reason: many mobile phones that are still in use today do not have the necessary prerequisites for this technology, which is called cell broadcast. In addition, the latest operating system must be installed even on many compatible mobile phones so that the message can be delivered. In some cases, the possible receipt of such messages must also be activated manually in the phone settings, said the spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior.
Regardless of the extensive preparations for this second nationwide warning day, not all existing sirens are tested in Thuringia either. In the district of Nordhausen, among others, this technology will remain silent. “The municipal sirens in the towns and communities in the district of Nordhausen will not howl on the warning day,” says the responsible district office. The municipalities there have already partially converted their local sirens to warn the population. “However, the required receivers have not yet been programmed across the board so that the rescue control center can control the sirens.”
