Austria’s annual test finds 99.33% of sirens working

Austria’s annual civil-protection siren test found that 99.33% of the country’s 8,399 sirens worked, ORF reported, citing the Interior Ministry. Fifty-six sirens failed, compared with 37 last year.

The test ran from noon to 12:45 p.m. on Saturday. There were no failures in Burgenland or Vorarlberg. The ministry reported 27 failures in Lower Austria, 12 in Carinthia, six in Styria, four in Upper Austria, three each in Tyrol and Salzburg, and one in Vienna.

Mobile warning systems were also tested. The ministry said mobile network operators reported that AT-Alert test messages had been sent successfully. The civil protection association’s Ziva app was tested as well.

The annual exercise checks the warning and alarm systems and familiarises the public with the signals. After a 15-second siren test, three civil-protection signals were sounded: a steady three-minute tone means a threat is approaching; a one-minute rising and falling tone signals danger; and a steady one-minute tone means the danger has passed. People are advised to follow information and instructions broadcast on radio, television and online.

AT-Alert sends warnings to compatible mobile phones connected to a mobile network. The nationwide test message was sent by the Interior Ministry at noon, with a second round of test alerts scheduled from 12:45 to 1 p.m. by the federal states. Ziva provides information, preparedness guidance and recommended actions, said Andreas Hanger, president of the Austrian Civil Protection Association.