Wednesday the sirens wail
In Switzerland, once again, 5000 General Alarm sirens and 2200 mobile sirens will be tested nationwide on Wednesday. As in previous years, the Alertswiss channels will also be checked. The number of Alertswiss users is now 1.2 million.
On Wednesday, February 2, 2022, the annual siren test will take place throughout Switzerland. 5000 stationary and 2200 mobile sirens will be tested. The alerting capabilities of the Alertswiss app will also be tested by sending notifications.
The test will take place at 13:30 in the afternoon. From then on, the sirens will wail regularly for one minute and emit an ascending and descending wail. This is the so-called general alarm. In the areas near the dams, a water alarm will also sound between 2:15 and 3 pm. According to the federal government, this signal consists of twelve low continuous tones of 20 seconds each at intervals of 10 seconds.
In addition, the mobile application Alertswiss is also being tested through notifications, which 1.2 million users have now installed on their cell phones. With Alertswiss, it is possible to send the population a message with behavioral recommendations even in the case of small-scale events such as an imminent debris flow or contaminated drinking water.
What applies in the event of a real siren alarm?
In the event of a general alarm outside an announced siren test, the population is asked to listen to the radio or get information via the Alertswiss channels, follow the instructions of the authorities and inform neighbors, the Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) writes. In the event of a water alarm, the population should leave the endangered area immediately.
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Source: FOCP
