Emergency warning

Disaster alert now sent directly to cell phones

In emergencies such as floods, warnings will be sent directly to cell phones in future.

(Bild: FF Mautern)

With the "AT-Alert", the population will in future receive immediate warnings in the event of disasters and emergencies. The test operation will start next week.

Storms, forest fires, heavy rain, floods, accidents involving radiological and chemical substances: Until now, the civilian population has mainly been warned of extreme and life-threatening events via the civil defense siren alarm. This is now to be supplemented by a more modern system. In future, all people in an affected area will receive a warning directly on their cell phone. This "AT-Alert" will go into trial operation on Monday. The system will be implemented throughout Austria; in Burgenland, the provincial security center (LSZ) is the initiating body.

Short message with link to further information
In an emergency, this system sends a short message in German and English with the warning and a link to a homepage with further information and instructions for action, explains Claus Paar, Head of the Civil Protection and Crisis Management Department. The message is sent via "cell broadcast", which works even if the network is overloaded. It is not necessary to install an app or anything similar. The message is only received by those who are in the affected area - this also applies to the all-clear. The "AT Alert" will only be used in major emergencies. "We won't use it excessively," says Markus Halwax, Head of Service at LSZ.

Test alerts will be available from September 9
In addition to the State Security Center, the Ministry of the Interior can also send messages via the channel. The public is urged to call up the information in an emergency and not to call the emergency numbers - these can otherwise quickly become overloaded. The test operation of the modern disaster warning will run from September 9 to October 5. During this time, there will definitely be at least one test alarm, says Paar. Depending on the danger level, there will be different alarm tones when the message arrives. These will also sound when the device is switched to "silent".