Ahh, the monthly Dutch air raid sirens… They might befuddle newcomers to the Netherlands, but those who’ve been here for a while no longer bat an eye at its shrill noonday calls.
However, according to a letter to the House of Representatives by outgoing Justice and Security Minister Dilan Yesilgöz, these monthly alarms will soon be on their way out.
NL Alerts will take over
As reported by the NOS, the Netherlands’ 4,200 alarm poles can currently only be heard by around 75% of the population.
People in rural areas and those close to the country’s borders, for example, have a particularly hard time receiving the sirens’ alerts.
always forget that the netherlands has alarms every monday of a month at 12 and just got a heart attack when i got a text alert and sirens went off— Lotti⁷ (@pluto_134043) December 7, 2020
In contrast, NL-Alerts (government notifications sent straight to mobile devices) reached a whopping 92% of the Dutch populace during its last testing phase.
READ MORE | Monthly alarm sirens in the Netherlands: what you need to know
Minister Yesilgöz intends to replace most sirens with NL-Alerts by the end of next year, though some alarm poles will still remain in high-risk areas.
What do you think of the impending switch to NL-Alerts? Tell us all your thoughts in the comments below!
I think they should keep them all, it is q tradition already. And use the phone alerts, too!
I agree
In my view, in time of an emergency use as many forms of communication as you possibly can to raise an alert. I presume these alarms may also be speakers that can have a means to explain what to do &/or explain what the emergency is… fire, chemical spill, flooding emergency etc ? The monthly tests are a great way to show community, there is a process that ensures things are checked off and routinely monitored, give a little confidence also that things are being attended to. I think the alarms reaching a grand total of 75% of people is better than 0%. Mobile phone networks do gone down, particularly in emergency situations, when everyone is on their phone simultaneously, it has happened many times before. Always good to have a plan ‘B’, you may regret getting rid of, what in my view, is a very good idea. If anything, I’d improve the speakers and make sure clear directions may be transmitted to the 75% of people in an emergency. Just saying 🙄