The weather is becoming more and more extreme. Sometimes there is flooding, sometimes a storm sweeps across the country, sometimes there is a major fire. When disasters like these occur, the Cell Broadcast System is supposed to alert the population.
Does it all work? That will be tested on the nationwide warning day, Thursday, 8 December, at 11 am. Then mobile phone users who are in the area of a cell will receive a text message on their device—if the mobile phone or smartphone is on and connected to the mobile network. At the highest alert level, a siren is triggered, even when the device is muted. Cell broadcasting (CB) does not require an app to be installed.
Many countries in Europe already use CB technology. In Germany, it is scheduled to run from the end of February 2023. It is intended to complement other warning systems such as the apps NINA and KatWarn (see the tünews report tun22102403).
Answers to many questions about cell broadcasting are provided by the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) at:
https://www.bbk.bund.de/DE/Warnung-Vorsorge/Warnung-in-Deutschland/So-werden-Sie-gewarnt/Cell-Broadcast/cell-broadcast_node.html
There you will also find a list of devices capable of receiving.
Sirens will also be tested in many places on this warning day. Information in many languages is available here:
https://warnung-der-bevoelkerung.de/serviceportal/
tun22113001
www.tuenews.de
Auf Rathäusern und Bürgerämtern finden sich heute noch Sirenen. Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL / Martin Klaus.
001791
