Austria to conduct nationwide civil protection siren test

Austria will conduct its annual nationwide civil protection siren test on October 3, 2026, between 12:00 PM and 12:45 PM. The exercise is designed to verify the technical functionality of the warning systems and to familiarize the public with various emergency signals.

The testing sequence includes a 15-second siren test tone, followed by the “Warning” signal (a three-minute steady tone), the “Alarm” signal (a one-minute rising and falling tone), and finally the “All Clear” signal (a one-minute steady tone). In addition to the sirens, the AT-Alert system will send test notifications to mobile devices within the network.

Austria maintains an extensive warning network with more than 8,300 sirens operated jointly by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, state governments, and state fire brigades. In the state of Salzburg alone, 521 sirens cover approximately 78 percent of the population across 119 municipalities.