For the national alert day, the city of Offenbach conducted a survey of the various alert devices. 243 citizens participated. 76 percent of participants received an alert on one of the alert devices – 24 percent received no alert at all. “In an emergency, we want to reach as many people as quickly as possible. The test results show how important this was: On the one hand, we have already directly reached a relatively large number of people, which is important above all. In the event of an emergency, these people will let other people know as well. On the other hand, and it was foreseeable, the overall figure is not yet satisfactory. It is therefore important for me to emphasize once again: We cannot regulate this only in the town hall. We also need the support of the people of Offenbach: By subscribing to alert apps and push messages, we can reach them quickly in the event of small and large crises. The city’s Internet portal offenbach.de is always a good address for information in an emergency,” asks Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke to address the sources of warning and the possibilities for obtaining information at an early stage.
The survey shows which sources of alerts worked particularly well: 114 people who took part in the survey were reached by direct telephone message from the provider (cell broadcasting). “Important to know: with some systems it was necessary to confirm before the alert day that you also want to receive test messages, but this is not necessary if the alerts are correct. Depending on your mobile phone settings, you may not have received a test message via cell broadcast, but in real life you would have received the message. My urgent request is that you do not rely on this blindly. Only smartphones with the latest operating software can receive alerts. Therefore: all those who do not have received a warning they must check their operating system and settings again,” emphasizes Mayor Schwenke, in his view important precautions that everyone must take themselves.
In the urban survey, 86 people received the alert via alert apps like Nina, Hessenwarn or Katwarn – these apps work even on older devices. Loudspeaker announcements from fire brigade vehicles were tested for the first time in parts of Offenbach. This also reached 86 people. Other early warning devices were the radio (33), social media (16 – mostly via Instagram and Facebook) and the municipal website www.offenbach.de (9) and citizen information systems (16). Apparently the push notification that you can subscribe to via the city’s website was still unknown.
Quiz #fit crisis
The city of Offenbach relies on the greatest possible combination of alarm devices because people communicate differently and are technically equipped. For all crises, the city’s website is the place to go, right after the radio. The people of Offenbach can already inform themselves and prepare for the crisis.
With a quiz, everyone can check until 5 January at 12:00 how crisis-proof their own household is. The questions revolve around the right supplies, alert apps and sources of information, important documents, and emergency equipment. The quiz runs below www.offenbach.de/krisenfit. Of all the correct entries, the city of Offenbach am Main is giving away an emergency radio that can be hand cranked, solar or battery operated.
Take the quiz – How crisis-proof is the family?
(Text: PM Municipality of Offenbach)
