Civil defense

Germany tests warning sirens for first time since cold war

Tens of thousands of sirens have sounded across Germany for the first time since the end of the cold war in a nationwide test designed to inform people about what to do in a catastrophe and to test the readiness of the emergency services.

The alarms were sounded at 11am, and the all-clear given 20 minutes later.

Efforts were made in advance to inform schools, care centres and asylum-seeker shelters amid concerns the sirens could cause panic or traumatise older people or refugees who might associate the sirens with war.

“We have a very unprepared population,” said Christoph Unger, president of the federal office for civil protection and disaster relief (BBK). “It’s not like during the cold war when you could find an explanation for the warning signals on the back of the Yellow Pages.”