Bernburg/SLK. The Salzlandkreis is taking part in the upcoming nationwide warning day. This is the fifth such event since reunification. The joint initiative by the federal and state governments, based on a standardised activation protocol, began in 2020 with the aim of raising public awareness, imparting essential knowledge about technical infrastructure, and at the same time testing the functionality of all the warning systems and channels involved.
On this year's warning day on Thursday, 11 September, the integrated control centre of the Salzland district will once again trigger the sirens in the towns and villages in the district at 10:59:30 a.m. for a one-minute wailing sound to sound the warning. The all-clear is then to be given at 11:45 a.m. during this test alarm, with a one-minute continuous tone and also triggered by the integrated control centre.
Warnings are also issued in parallel via various channels. Centrally controlled by the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, warning messages are sent to the population via SMS notifications and special warning apps or directly to mobile phones using the cell broadcast method of mobile phone services. In addition, regional and local sirens, loudspeaker vans and city information boards will be used.
The Salzland district also informed its towns and municipalities in advance of the planned nationwide standardised procedure and asked them to participate with their own warning resources. This is because the warning day gives the district, as the disaster control authority, and all partners involved the opportunity to test the process chains that have been set up based on the findings of previous years. And after the last Warning Day in 2024, three new sirens and two new control devices for triggering the population warning in the district area will be put into service with federal funding from the state of Saxony-Anhalt in Egeln, Güsten and Könnern, which will now also sound the alarm if necessary.