Informing, warning and alerting the population
Sirens and Alertswiss notifications are the most important channels for alerting the public in the event of danger.
Informing, warning and alerting the public are core tasks of civil protection. If people are at risk during an incident such as a fire, flood, disaster or emergency, the relevant federal or cantonal authority will issue an alert and provide safety instructions. It is also important to keep the public informed even when there is no immediate danger, so that they can prepare if necessary. The Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) operates various channels to ensure the public can be informed, warned and alerted in good time.
Information, warnings, alerts – what's the difference?
Information refers to a message about an event relevant to civil protection that does not necessarily involve immediate danger or require urgent action. These messages are key to meeting the public’s need for reliable updates – even when a situation is not, or not yet, directly threatening. They also help to ensure that the systems remain in regular use. Information messages are published on the Alertswiss app and website.
Warnings are issued when there is a potential threat or an event for which the authorities recommend people take precautions. Warnings are usually sent to the relevant authorities and, when needed, also to the public. They are published on the Alertswiss app and website and may also be broadcast on the radio. Warnings about natural hazards are shared via the website www.naturgefahren.ch and the MeteoSwiss app.
Alerts are used to notify the public of imminent danger and include safety instructions that must be followed. Switzerland operates a nationwide siren network for this purpose. These alerts are the most urgent and critical messages, providing immediate protection for people and their livelihoods. Alerts are published on the Alertswiss app and website, and mandatory alerts are also broadcast on the radio. The ‘general alarm’ siren signal means that people should tune in to the radio, check the Alertswiss app or website, and follow the official instructions. In addition to the general alarm, a separate signal, the flood alarm, is used in areas downstream from dams. If you hear the flood alarm, this means you must move to higher ground immediately.
Take responsibility – inform your neighbours!
After the general alarm sounds, follow-up information is provided via Alertswiss and on the radio. In the event of a power outage, the authorities can use additional methods to issue alerts and share safety instructions, such as loudspeakers on police, fire, and civil protection vehicles; megaphones; emergency personnel going door-to-door; printed leaflets; and emergency meeting points. However, the authorities and emergency services also rely on people to take responsibility themselves. The agencies responsible for issuing alerts, along with the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES), recommend keeping a radio and spare batteries at home. Car radios also work independently of the main power grid. In addition, it is always important to share information with your neighbours. If you know what the authorities have advised following an alert, help spread the word, particularly among those who may not have received the message, such as people in basements, noisy environments, or soundproofed areas.
Who is responsible for informing, warning and alerting the public?
The responsibility for informing, warning and alerting the public lies with the authority managing the incident. This is typically a cantonal civil protection body, though in certain instances it may be a federal authority (see the next section on natural hazard warnings for more information). The cantonal police operations centres, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) and fedpol have IT systems dedicated to publishing messages via Alertswiss and, in the case of the cantons and the NEOC, triggering sirens. Flood alarms can also be triggered directly by the dam operators.
Natural hazard warnings
The federal agencies responsible for natural hazards continuously monitor the situation and issue warnings to the relevant authorities and the public when necessary. Responsibilities are divided as follows:
- Severe weather events: Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss)
- Floods and related landslides: Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)
- Forest fires: Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)
- Avalanches: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF)
- Earthquakes: Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zurich (SED)
Information on the current natural hazard situation is available at www.naturgefahren.ch. The relevant federal agencies coordinate their messages. Natural hazard warnings are published on www.naturgefahren.ch and the MeteoSwiss app. In the event of a severe natural hazard, it may be mandatory to broadcast a warning. In this case, an official, federal warning is broadcast by public and private broadcasters. Warnings are also published on the Alertswiss website and app.
The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) at the FOCP acts as a central hub for the rapid, secure and coordinated transmission of these warnings to designated broadcasters. The NEOC also ensures that public warnings are aligned in terms of timing and content with those issued to the relevant federal and cantonal authorities.
Thanks to continuous monitoring, many natural hazard events can be anticipated in advance. This is why warnings are typically issued before any damage occurs – unlike alerts, which are triggered during an event. In the event of an incident, responsibility for protective measures and instructions to the public lies with the cantons or communes. These measures are communicated via Alertswiss.
Nationwide siren network
The aim of having a nationwide siren network is to ensure that the entire population can be alerted in an emergency. With around 5,000 fixed and 2,200 mobile sirens in operation, this ambitious target is almost met in inhabited areas. Fixed sirens are used in densely populated areas, while mobile sirens are used in more sparsely populated areas. However, in populated areas, some people may still not be reached, such as those in soundproofed buildings or people with severe hearing impairments. Others may hear the sirens but be unable to understand the official instructions, for example due to a language barrier. This is why it is so important for neighbours to share information with one another.
Coordination between authorities and infrastructure operators
In order to keep people informed, warned and alerted in an emergency, the relevant authorities and operators of nuclear and dam facilities must be prepared, both technically and organisationally. This requires close cooperation.
- The FOCP is responsible for operating and developing the channels used to inform, warn and alert the public. The cantons are responsible for issuing alerts and warnings for incidents that fall under their jurisdiction.
- The FOCP defines the technical requirements for public alerting systems and provides guidance on siren and system testing. The federal government funds the sirens and is responsible for maintaining and ensuring the operational readiness of the core technical components that are used to remotely control and manage the sirens (i.e. Polyalert).
- The cantons are responsible for alerting plans and the technical systems used to notify the relevant authorities. Together with the communes, they are responsible for purchasing, installing and maintaining the sirens and ensuring their constant operational readiness.
- As part of their emergency response regulations, operators of nuclear and dam facilities must define the technical criteria and internal responsibilities for issuing alerts and warnings in an emergency. Dam operators are also responsible for maintaining the decentralised components of the flood alarm system and ensuring their operational readiness.