Justice minister says replacement for air-raid sirens is needed

The government is working on a new early warning system to replace the national network air-raid sirens, which are due to be switched off in 2028.

Justice minister David van Weel said an alternative was needed after announcing that the 4,200 sirens will fall silent at the end of next year. The monthly tests on the first Monday of every month, which have been run since the 1950s, will also end.

NL-Alert mobile phone alarms now reach 92% of people, but Van Weel acknowledged that a backup system was needed in case the mobile network goes down during an emergency.

Last year the government published a booklet advising people to make contingency plans for the first 72 hours of a national crisis, such as stockpiling supplies and using emergency radios.

Van Weel said the new system should be more sophisticated and informative than the “dumb” and antiquated sirens, but did not say what form it should take. The ministry will also need to find money to fund the project.

“[The siren] is a fairly dumb piece of equipment. Someone presses a button in a building and it sets off a noise. Ideally we want to give people more detailed information,” the minister said.

“NL-Alert is our primary warning system, it’s one of the most advanced in Europe in terms of informing people very specifically about what the threat is.

“But the mobile network could go down, so we’re working with the defence department to look at what alternative we can offer in that case.”