Monday, the first of the month. That means a new air raid siren. The system that warns us of danger has been around for decades. How does it work and is it still up to date?
In the Northern Netherlands control room in Drachten, people are already watching the clock with a slanted eye. It won’t be long before that necessary action will take place. That one mouse click that makes all the alarm poles in the Northern Netherlands start blaring like crazy. A fixed ritual on the first Monday of the month.
The job is assigned to the fire brigade operator, who answers calls to emergency number 112 for the rest of the day. Activating the air raid siren is not an hour-long affair; just press the right button. “It is a manual operation,” says a spokeswoman for the Drenthe Safety Region (VRD).
On the one hand, the test alarm is intended as a check. Does the equipment all work? In addition, it must be in our system, so that everyone recognizes the siren when the need arises.
The air raid siren can be activated in various crisis situations. Such as an air raid, terrorism or released hazardous substances. “The advice is: go inside, close windows and doors, turn off ventilation and look for information through the media,” says the VRD spokeswoman.
More often, it is decided to send an NL-Alert with instructions on how to act. Switching on the air raid siren is a ‘very serious measure’, she emphasizes. “This is only used in exceptional cases.”
(Text continues below the information block)