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Thursday 10 September 2020
With a nationwide test alarm, the warning systems will be tested in Germany and the citizens will be informed. But not everything goes according to plan in the morning. Sometimes there are significant delays in the distribution of the warning message. The Home Office strikes a sobering balance.
The first day of the alert at the national level revealed clear gaps in the alert to the population. On the one hand, it became clear that in many places there are no longer sirens, and on the other hand, the danger messages from the NINA and KATWARN warning apps only reached smartphones late. The Federal Ministry of the Interior described the nationwide test alarm as “failed”. The reason for this is a technical problem. “The processes are now being processed in a comprehensive manner,” the ministry announced. The knowledge gained should be taken into account in the future development of the warning system.
The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (BBK) in Bonn explained the collapse by activating a large number of warning messages at the same time. “Initial analyzes have shown that not only was the warning triggered centrally at 11 o’clock, but many other connected control centers also triggered warnings independently, causing the system to overload,” said President Christoph Unger. “This has to be coordinated much more clearly for the next warning day.” If necessary, appropriate technical precautions should be taken.
No sirens howling in Munich and Berlin
The so-called warning day serves as preparation for dangerous situations such as severe storms, floods, chemical accidents or terrorist attacks. On the first nationwide warning day, sirens and other warning systems should go off across the country at 11 a.m. Meanwhile, the test warning was shown as text on various television channels. Ntv.de also participated in the exercise.
In Cologne, for example, the sirens sounded at 11 am sharp. In some places, however, the population did not initially notice the test alarm. For Munich, for example, a fire department spokesman said there had been no sirens in the state capital for many years. They were gradually dismantled after the end of the Cold War. On social media, many users expressed surprise that the sirens did not sound. Also in Berlin he remained calm. Due to dense development, there have been no civil defense sirens in the federal capital since the 1990s.
The NINA warning app sent a message at the same time as the official warning and the go-ahead from the Federal Office. However, NINA kept quiet with many users. The advertised warning message and the subsequent full authorization only arrived 30 minutes late. However, the Federal Office sees a benefit in the test. It provides “important information for the expansion” of the reporting system, explained the BBK.
