Austria to test sirens and AT-Alert nationwide on Saturday

Austria will test its civil protection sirens and digital AT-Alert warning system nationwide on Saturday from noon to 12:45 p.m., ORF reported.

People will receive a system message on their smartphones. Authorities are asking the public not to call emergency numbers during the test. Carinthia will run an information hotline at 050 536 57057 from noon to 1 p.m.

Carinthia’s disaster protection councillor, Governor Daniel Fellner, said the test aims to raise awareness of civil protection and encourage people to prepare at home. He cited this year’s severe forest fires in Lesachtal and neighbouring Friuli-Venezia Giulia as examples of the importance of preparedness. Carinthia will also hold its largest disaster response exercise to date from November 13 to 15, he said.

Fellner said AT-Alert can reach everyone in an affected area, including visitors, and deliver coordinated information and instructions directly to them.

Harald Geissler, president of the Carinthian Civil Protection Association, urged people to use the test as an opportunity to check fire extinguishers, first-aid supplies and smoke detectors, and to make sure they have emergency supplies of water, food and medicine. He also advised checking for a battery-powered radio and emergency lighting in case of a power cut.

Geissler said the association’s new civil protection app, ZIVA, brings together personal preparedness, hazard information and real-time alerts. The app will also be active during the test, he said.

The test will include three siren signals. “Warning” is a steady tone lasting three minutes; in an emergency, it would alert people to an approaching danger. The “alarm” signal is a rising and falling tone lasting at least one minute, indicating that danger is imminent. A steady one-minute “all-clear” signals that the danger has passed, but people should continue to follow announcements on radio and television.