There are two types of alarm in Switzerland: the ‘general alarm’ and the ‘flood alarm’. The general alarm is sounded when there is a possible threat to the population. It signals to the population that they should turn on the radio and follow the authorities’ instructions, listen to the official bulletins, and inform their neighbours.

There are two types of alarm in Switzerland: the ‘general alarm’ and the ‘flood alarm’. Flood alarms are positioned only in areas downstream of dam facilities and are sounded when there is a risk of flooding. This alarm signals to the local population that they must evacuate the area immediately and follow the guidelines and instructions issued by the authorities.

Flood alarm fact sheet

After the general alarm is sounded, information is provided immediately via radio. Turn on the radio or television and follow the instructions issued by the authorities and the emergency task forces.

1. Contact the emergency services only in a real emergency.
2. Avoid non-essential use of your telephone and other means of communication, such as the internet (risk of grid overload).
3. Avoid non-essential use of your car or other means of transport (risk of congestion problems).
4. Be especially vigilant when driving (traffic lights, safety barriers etc. might not be working).
5. Inform and help your neighbours as well as friends and family who might need special assistance.

Every year, on the first Wednesday in February, all sirens across Switzerland are tested. These checks concern both the ‘general alarm’ and ‘flood alarm’. The public is notified beforehand through announcements on the radio, on TV and in the press.

In addition to the existing alerting and information channels sirens and radio the alertswiss application and website spreads alarms, warnings and information. With the Alertswiss app, the alerting and information of the population in case of an event is sent via push message directly to the smartphone.

Switzerland has plans to put in place a multichannel communication system to disseminate warnings, alerts and emergency-related information. To begin with, the Alertswiss application and website will be added to the existing communication and alert channels, i.e. sirens and radio. The set-up is devised to enable the flexible roll-out of other channels at a later date. The FOCP hopes that the further development of Alertswiss will satisfy the demand for the swift supply of information once the alarm has been raised, and take better account of the public’s changing media use habits.