On the nationwide warning day on Thursday, the howling of sirens in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will be very patchy. According to the Interior Ministry in Schwerin, only 60 percent of the population can be reached with sirens.
Schwerin (dpa/mv) - In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to the Schwerin Ministry of the Interior, only 60 percent of the population can be warned by sirens in the event of a disaster. There are currently 1,600 sirens in the northeast, the ministry said at the request of the German Press Agency. On Thursday, a nationwide warning day is to be used to test how the population can be informed in an emergency. A first warning day two years ago was considered a failure.
Because there is still no nationwide siren network, a "mix of warning devices" is used to warn the population, a ministry spokeswoman said. These included the "MoWaS" modular warning system operated by the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, the "Nina" warning app, radio stations and on-site loudspeaker announcements. For the first time this year there will also be "Cell Broadcast", a direct message to the smartphone.
After the first warning day two years ago, it became clear that there are far too few sirens in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to warn all citizens in the event of a disaster. The federal government launched a retrofit program. But apparently the installation of new sirens is not progressing equally well everywhere. According to the Ministry of the Interior, Schwerin applied for funding for 17 sirens, all of which were approved.
Last week, however, the state capital announced that there would be no sirens on the nationwide warning day because there were only sirens at two locations. The city council decided in January to install sirens again to warn people in Schwerin. However, this project is "not yet complete". Warnings are to be issued across Germany at 11 a.m. on Thursday, including via radio, city information boards and sirens.
The situation is different in Rostock. The city's existing siren network was expanded there in 2020, so that 19 systems are available throughout the city. The Hanseatic city recently announced that the network will be expanded again by the end of 2022 and the last remaining gaps will be closed.
The Ministry of the Interior emphasized that the districts and urban districts are responsible for warning the population. The country has so far refrained from making binding specifications for the installation of sirens. That is why there is neither a state plan for setting up a nationwide network nor any ideas as to when it should be ready.
