Siren test
Sirens can save lives. Provided they work properly and the population knows what to do. On Wednesday, February 7, 2018, the annual siren test will therefore take place throughout Switzerland.
Disasters can occur at any time and without warning - also in Switzerland. In the event of an incident, it is crucial that the responsible authorities, the civil protection command and response organizations and also the affected population act as quickly and correctly as possible. To this end, the relevant information must be available. As a result, damage can be prevented or limited.
To this end, Switzerland has a dense network of around 5,000 stationary sirens and around 2,200 mobile sirens to ensure that the population is alerted. The Federal Office for Civil Protection (Babs), in cooperation with the cantons, municipalities and dam operators, ensures that the alerting systems are state-of-the-art and kept operational at all times. In recent years, for example, all of the approximately 5,000 stationary sirens have been connected to the uniform Polyalert control system. This means that they can be triggered centrally in each canton, usually by the cantonal police.
General alarm and water alarm
On February 7, 2018, the functional readiness of the sirens will therefore be tested throughout Switzerland. The sirens of the general alarm and the water alarm will be tested. No protective measures are to be taken.
Triggered at 13:30 is the sign of the general alarm. It is a regular ascending and descending wail of one minute. If necessary, the siren test may continue until 2 pm.
From 2:15 p.m. until 3 p.m. at the latest, the water alarm is triggered in endangered areas below dams. It consists of twelve low continuous tones of 20 seconds each at intervals of 10 seconds.
New ways in event communication
Since 2015, the Babs has been operating together with its partners under the name of Alertswiss new communication channels to inform the population about protection in the event of disasters and emergencies, in particular a website and an app. In the future, the Alertswiss channels will also be used for event information in the event of disasters and emergencies. This will enable the population to be informed quickly and comprehensively. This applies in particular with regard to people with a hearing impairment, who are only insufficiently reached by the traditional siren alarm.
If the general alarm sounds outside an announced siren test, it means that there is a possibility of danger to the population. In this case, the population is asked to listen to the radio, follow the instructions of the authorities and inform the neighbors.
The water alarm means that there is an immediate danger below a dam. In this case, the population is requested to leave the endangered area immediately. Leaflets inform the population in the affected areas in advance about the water alarm in general and in particular about the escape possibilities available on site.
Further notes and rules of conduct can be found on the Website of the Federal Office for Civil Protection as well as in the teletext of the SRG stations, page 680.
Source: VBS
