Rheine. On Thursday, 08 September 2022, a state-wide siren rehearsal alarm will take place in North Rhine-Westphalia. Punctually at 11:00 a.m., the sirens will be triggered in all municipalities, including Rheine. In addition, the warning apps “NINA” (emergency information and messaging app of the federal government) and “KATWARN” will accompany the siren rehearsal alarm by means of push notification.
The purpose of the nationwide siren rehearsal alarm is to test the siren infrastructure and at the same time raise awareness of siren signals among the population. “The technical testing of sirens is important. Only if this is tested regularly can the function and reliability also be verified. With a nationwide siren test alarm, we also want to use the reach for the topic at the same time, so that the citizens can also do something with the siren sounds,” explains Interior Minister Herbert Reul the measure.
Due to the war in Ukraine, the last siren rehearsal alarm in March 2022 was canceled at short notice by the Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia in order to avoid unsettling the population or even misinterpretations, as well as to give the people who have fled to us the necessary peace and security.
What will be heard on Thursday?
The beginning of the test alarm will be triggered with a 1-minute continuous tone for the all-clear. This will be followed by the 1-minute rising and falling wailing tone for the warning. In the event of an emergency, all citizens are urged to immediately go to a building at this tone and turn on the radio for more information. Information is also published on the authorities’ websites. However, 110 and 112 should only be called in case of emergency. Finally, the all-clear signal is sounded again.