On December 08, the nationwide warning day will take place. For all Frankfurt residents, the Frankfurt Fire Department, as the disaster control authority responsible at the local level, has compiled the most important information about it.
Federal Warning Day - what is it and what exactly happens in Frankfurt?
On the nationwide warning day, the technical infrastructure of population warning is tested throughout Germany with a test warning. Centrally from the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), a corresponding warning text will be sent at 11 a.m. to all so-called warning multipliers that are connected to the national warning system (MoWaS).
Therefore, also in Frankfurt, the stations of the Hessischer Rundfunk should pass on the test warning, the warning apps should trigger and the Ströer displays connected in the city for a year should mirror the test warning.
For the first time, the warning technology Cell Broadcast is also to be tried out and a test warning message in the highest warning level is to be sent to all cell phones in Germany. So on the warning day all Frankfurt cell phones should also give an alarm - if the settings are correct. More about this later under the pubnkt "Cell Broadcast".
From the Central Control Center of the Frankfurt Fire Department, the sirens of the Fechenheim and Höchst industrial parks will also be triggered on Warning Day. 45 minutes later, there should be all-clear everywhere.
What does not happen in Frankfurt: citywide currently no sirens howl. However, the magistrate intends to build a comprehensive and modern siren network. The template prepared by the fire department for this purpose for the necessary planning funds were decided.
What Frankfurters should know about the population warning
Flood disasters and forest fires in Germany as a result of the climate crisis, war in close proximity - no one doubts anymore that it is elementary important to be able to warn people quickly and effectively in case of danger. This includes, on the one hand, a functioning warning infrastructure and, on the other hand, that citizens have a basic knowledge of who warns, how they are warned and what they should do themselves so that they can be warned.
Warning app NINA
The BBK warns on Warning Day and during nationwide crisis situations. In the case of non-police hazards affecting Frankfurt, the warning is triggered in the control center of the Frankfurt Fire Department. There is a MoWaS station, through which all the warning means just mentioned are triggered.
The Frankfurt Fire Department, like the BBK, explicitly recommends the warning app NINA. The app differentiates between weather warnings, flood information and population protection warnings such as major fire or hazardous substance spread. However, it is important not only to download the app, but to understand it in a short amount of time and to set it up so that it suits the place of residence and living situation. Those who can should help elderly relatives or neighbors with this.
Cell Broadcast
Cell Broadcast (CB) is supposed to simply reach all cell phones that are in the vulnerable area without apps, but that still only works under certain conditions: The operating system must be supplied with the latest update, sensibly before the warning day. Moreover, a warning in a test or emergency situation only arrives if the phone is not off or in flight mode. If you want peace and quiet at night, it is better to choose other settings. With some devices, it must also be manually enabled that and which CB warnings are received. Here, too, the fire department urges Frankfurt residents: those who are good with cell phones should help those who need support, so that everyone can be warned in case of danger.
With the warning day, by the way, Cell Broadcast goes into the test phase, CB should be properly ready for operation from next spring.
Inform and prepare
A warning is usually loud and concise. It often contains a request for active information afterwards: on local radio or on the channels of the warning authority. Even if it may take a moment in the event of a crisis, all important information and instructions for action will be available there, from a competent and trustworthy source.
But it is also important that the population be as prepared as possible before a warning is issued in the wake of a crisis. And even if they are not very likely. The Frankfurt Fire Department recommends that this be viewed in the same way as the seat belt in a car: You wear it even though there is only a small probability of a serious accident. In addition to limited stockpiling and access to information, being prepared for Frankfurt also includes: making sure that warnings can reach them.
The fire department has more information about Warning Day on its website https://www.feuerwehr-frankfurt.de/ or at the short link fwffm.info/w provided.
