Two years ago, the first nationwide warning day revealed deficits in warning the population of dangers. A lot has improved in Thuringia since then.
Erfurt (dpa/th) - Numerous sirens in Thuringia have been built or converted in the past two years so that they can also warn people in the event of a power failure. For this purpose, these sirens were equipped with rechargeable batteries, according to the Thuringian Ministry of the Interior's response to a small query from FDP MP Dirk Bergner. This should ensure that in the event of a power failure, at least four warning and all-clear cycles can be run through, writes the ministry to the Liberals.
According to the ministry, there are currently around 2,360 sirens in total in Thuringia. Most can be found in the district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt. There are almost 220 such systems there. There are also a relatively large number of such warning systems in the districts of Greiz and Saale-Orla. The response from the Ministry of the Interior shows almost 200 sirens per district.
According to the state government's Ministry of the Interior, it is not known how many of these sirens have battery buffering. However, in 2021 and 2022, a grant from state and federal siren funding programs was approved for 616 sirens in Thuringia - and all sirens funded in this way must have their own battery, according to the Ministry of the Interior. In the future, it is planned to provide all sirens in the Free State with battery buffering. However, it is still unclear by when this goal can be achieved. That not only depends on how much the municipalities demand the support programs, but also on when the relevant technology can be delivered and installed.
Warning people of all kinds of dangers with sirens was common practice in Germany a few decades ago. After the end of the Cold War, however, this warning device became less important. However, when a nationwide warning day two years ago showed that the alternatives to sirens - for example warning apps for smartphones - did not work as planned, calls were made nationwide to invest more in such systems again.
Another nationwide warning day is to take place on Thursday (December 8th). According to the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, there should then be a Germany-wide test alarm from 11:00 a.m. Then, according to the plans, test warnings will be sent, among other things, via television and radio, via warning apps for smartphones, via loudspeaker trucks and via sirens.
