The federal and state interior ministers have decided to hold this year’s Nationwide Alert Day on 8 December 2022. The aim is to inform people in Germany about the different warning devices used in emergencies and to raise public awareness of civil protection measures.

The Nationwide Alert Day is a joint exercise during which the Federal Government and the federal states, as well as participating rural and urban districts and municipalities, all test their warning devices. At 11:00, the participating authorities and emergency personnel will simultaneously trigger their different warning devices.

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser: “We must be better prepared for future crises such as extreme weather events, forest fires and floods. For example, we need state-of-the-art systems to be able to warn the public of threats in a prompt and targeted way. And we need to test new systems to be able to use them effectively in cases of emergency. That is why at this year’s Nationwide Alert Day on 8 December, a test alert of the highest level will be sent to all mobile phones across Germany for the first time. This will be the first time that we test alerts sent via Cell Broadcast. An effective and reliable warning infrastructure requires different warning devices, including sirens and our NINA warning app. The Nationwide Alert Day will serve to test all warning devices used in Germany.”

Ralph Tiesler, President of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK): “The 2022 Nationwide Alert Day will see the start of extensive Cell Broadcast testing. This will take our cooperation with the public to a new level. The tests will give people the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the new warning channel and will provide us with feedback and real-time information so that we can continue to refine the coordination of relevant processes. This will allow us to make technical adjustments and improvements as needed so that we can add Cell Broadcast to Germany’s range of standard warning devices as planned in 2023.”

The relevant authorities and mobile network providers are currently working hard to introduce Cell Broadcast. The Nationwide Alert Day will serve to test the new warning channel for the first time by sending a test alert to all mobile phones used in Germany. The alert message will display on all devices in mobile radio cells that can receive Cell Broadcast messages. Mobile phone users will be provided with information about the alerts by the start of the Nationwide Alert Day.

Cell Broadcast is set to go into operation by the end of February 2023, complementing existing warning channels such as the NINA warning app, radio, TV and advertising boards.

You can find further information on the various warning devices here (in german):

https://www.bbk.bund.de/DE/Warnung-Vorsorge/Warnung-in-Deutschland/Warnmittel/warnmittel_node.html