During today’s civil protection test alert, 8,327 sirens functioned flawlessly, the Interior Ministry announced Saturday afternoon. This corresponds to a success rate of 99.56 percent. Between 12:00 and 12:45 p.m., following the “Sirens Test” signal, the three civil protection signals “Warning,” “Alert,” and “All Clear” were broadcast across Austria. The test not only serves to check the technical systems of the warning and alert network but also aims to familiarize the population with these signals and their meanings.
System failures in the federal states amounted to 0.44 percent (37 sirens), compared to 0.57 percent (48 sirens) in 2024. Currently, 8,364 fire brigade sirens are capable of broadcasting the signals. Depending on the threat situation, the alerts can be triggered centrally by the Federal Warning Center at the Interior Ministry’s operations center, by the state warning centers of the individual federal states, or by district warning centers.
AT-Alert Also Activated For Testing
Alongside the siren test, the digital warning system AT-Alert was also broadcast nationwide. According to information from mobile network operators, the test messages were successfully transmitted. Detailed analyses of the number of mobile stations reached will be carried out over the coming week.
Introduced last year, AT-Alert complements the nationwide siren warning system. It allows authorities to send regional or nationwide alerts via mobile network operators. The system is based on “Cell Broadcast” mobile technology, an independent communication method that sends text messages to mobile phones logged into the affected area.
