Emergency sirens tested in Germany for the first time in over 30 years

The German cities of Berlin and Brandenburg tested their warning systems. On September 11, authorities tested various signaling devices to practice emergency response.

This was reported on the official website of Berlin.

On Warning Day, more than 200 sirens were activated in Berlin. First, a system was tested to notify people of the alarm, and after 45 minutes, to notify them of its end. In addition, relevant notifications were sent to local residentsʼ phones.

Although Germany has been celebrating Warning Day on the second Thursday of September for the fifth year in a row, this year sirens sounded in the capital for the first time since 1993.

Berlin dismantled its sirens more than 30 years ago because they were no longer considered necessary. However, due to the changing security situation in recent years, authorities have started installing sirens on rooftops. They plan to activate 450 sirens by the end of the year, and another 100 in remote areas over the next two years.

Berlinʼs Senator for Internal Affairs Iris Spranger explained that by "changing security situations" she meant "climate change with severe storms, power outages, cyberattacks and the current global situation with aggressive war in Europe".

• In Lithuania, on September 5, the government approved a new alert system — if drones that may pose a threat are detected in the airspace, people will be warned with sirens.

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