Today Thursday is warning day! Disaster warning systems are tested nationwide. Meanwhile, an office calls for the download of NINA.
On September 10, 2020 at 11 a.m., the alarm bells will ring nationwide: During a test run including all means activated and available in Germany, a warning will be sent to smartphones, TV and radio devices, among other things. In the event of a real disaster, the population should be warned of dangers.
The federal, state and local governments take part in this test. The functions of existing warning apps or the possibility of speaking to the population via television or radio frequencies are then tested. Local measures such as sirens, if they have the appropriate signal to warn the population of disasters, will also howl this Thursday.
More and more people are using the NINA warning app
The President of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Aid (BBK) Christoph Unger calls at the same time to download the warning app NINA (for iOS and Android) onto his smartphone: "Everyone should take the opportunity to have the quick 'warning in their pockets 'to be carried with you to effectively protect yourself and others. "
Although the last few months had seen an increase of around 25 percent in downloads, that could only be a start. Around 7.6 million people in Germany currently use the app, compared to only 6.1 million in March. According to Unger, around one in ten people use the app in Germany.
The importance and timeliness of the topic of warning was also shown by the developments in connection with the coronavirus this year. According to the decision of the Conference of Interior Ministers, the nationwide warning day will take place annually on the second Thursday in September from 2020. The aim is to increase the "acceptance and knowledge of warning the population in emergencies and thus their self-protection skills", according to a statement by the BBK.