Austria’s annual warning siren test will take place on Saturday, October 5, emergency officials have announced.
Simultaneously, the nationwide disaster warning system AT-Alert will be trialled across the country for the first time. Officials noted that the test warnings, like the siren tests, will take place between 12:00 and 13:00 via mobile phones and should “not be mistaken for actual disaster alerts.”
During the AT-Alert trial, users will notice two things on their mobile phones: a text message will appear saying, “Attention Test – Nationwide test activation of civil protection signals via sirens and test activations of AT-Alert,” along with a loud warning tone.
At the highest alert level, this sound cannot be silenced. Those who prefer not to receive the test alert should switch their phones to flight mode or turn them off while driving or attending events, according to a press release from the Ministry of the Interior.
Officials began trialling AT-Alert last month as a complement to the nationwide siren warning system, issuing 15 warnings during severe weather in mid-September from heavily affected regions like Styria, Burgenland, and Lower Austria, as reported by the Ministry of the Interior.
AT-Alert provides warnings for hazards such as extreme weather, natural disasters, flooding, or wildfires. It operates anonymously, requiring no personal data.
No app download or registration is needed, but users must have a phone with Android (version 11 or later) or iOS (version 17.4 or later). Users should check their phone settings to ensure they can receive alerts. There are four alert levels, with the highest emergency alarm activated by default on all phones, which cannot be turned off. Older phones that only support 2G will only receive this highest level. If a phone is in flight mode or switched off, no warnings will be received.
AT-Alert proved effective in September’s severe weather, with 15 alerts issued. The first test phase ran smoothly, and the old warning system, “Katwarn,” along with its app, will be discontinued.
