NL-Alert is tested twice a year, in June and December. Monday’s test is the first warning message since the start of the war in Ukraine. The report can therefore also reach the tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees in the country. To prepare them, the Ministry of Justice and Security warned them last week with messages in Ukrainian and Russian. In it, they were told that the message is a test, that they will hear a loud and shrill sound and that they do not have to do anything.
In recent weeks, the NL-Alert system has only been used for large fires with a lot of smoke nuisance, including in Heerenveen, Winterswijk, Eindhoven, Oss and Geleen. On February 18, the government called on people via NL-Alert to stay indoors because of a severe storm. In July last year, NL-Alert warned against evacuations due to flooding in South Limburg.