Nationwide siren test

In Switzerland, about 5,000 stationary sirens are operated for the general alarm. Around 600 of these can be used simultaneously for the water alarm. The Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP), in cooperation with cantons, municipalities and the operators of dams, ensures that the sirens are kept up to date and operational.

Different tones

On February 5, 2020, the functional readiness of sirens will be tested throughout Switzerland - both the sirens of the general alarm and the water alarm (cf. Siren test 2019). The population does not have to take any measures.

The general alarm signal is triggered at 1:30 p.m.: a regular ascending and descending wail lasting one minute. If necessary, the siren test can be continued until 14:00. In parallel with the first sounding of the general alarm, all cantons will also broadcast a test alarm message via the Alertswiss channels.

From 2.15 p.m. until 3 p.m. at the latest, the water alarm signal is tested in the near zones below dams. It consists of twelve low continuous tones of 20 seconds each at intervals of 10 seconds.

What applies in the event of a real 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 requested to listen to the radio or to inform themselves via the Alertswiss channels, to follow the instructions of the authorities and to inform their 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 advice and recommendations on how to behave can be found on the FOCP website, on the Alertswiss website and in the teletext of the SRG broadcasters, pages 680 and 681.

Central part of an overall system for alerting

Together with the cantons and other partners, the FOCP has introduced a system for remote control of sirens under the term Polyalert. All stationary sirens are connected to it. In recent years, Polyalert has been further developed into a core system for alerting and event information. The Alertswiss app and website, SRG radio stations, and user organizations' Twitter accounts are directly connected to Polyalert. This allows authorities to simultaneously capture, edit and trigger messages on multiple channels.

In general, after the alerting with sirens, information is always provided in the first programs of the SRG radio station chains (SRF, RTS, RSI). Alertswiss expands the range of instruments in the area of event communication: After an event, further information can be provided via the same channels, and thanks to message levels (alarm, warnings and information), information can also be provided quickly and in a target group-oriented manner for smaller events such as contaminated drinking water in a municipality, without triggering a siren alarm at the same time.

The Alertswiss app is available free of charge for Android and iOS systems. It can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

Press release/editor VBS

More background information here