Germany wants to acquire an alert system via laptops

Germany plans to equip itself with an automatic sending mechanism of alerts via mobile phones to prevent populations with a possible danger, especially in the event of a natural disaster, the Minister of the Interior Horst announced Monday July 26Seehofer, after the recent deadly floods.

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"In recent months, the idea has not always aroused everyone's enthusiasm.But I decided that we were going to do it.There is no reasonable argument against this, "explained Horst Seehofer, auditioned at the Bundestag by parliamentarians following the terrible floods that affected the country in mid-July.German security authorities and services have been criticized for having partially failed to prevent the populations concerned with the gravity of the floods.If the German Meteorological Service and the Federal Office for Disaster Prevention have issued warnings, these have not been sufficiently relayed.

Among the tracks to improve prevention, the German government now intends to authorize the sending of alerts by telephone, a mechanism called "Cell Broadcasting".Looking like an SMS, this alert is sent by a public authority on the mobile phone of people located in a risk area, via its network operator.

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Germany wants to reinstate the prevention system by sirens

Unlike a text, the message is not sent to a specific number, making this system compatible with private data protection, a very important concern in Germany.And unlike SMS, a message sent by cell diffusion arrives even if the network is overloaded.This technology, which requires an investment of several tens of millions of euros, is still little used in Europe while similar systems are widespread in the United States or Japan for disaster management.

In addition to this cell alert system, Germany also plans to reinstate a sirens prevention system, many of which had been dismantled in recent years, for lack of maintenance.A test at the national level of this system inherited from the Cold War had turned to fiasco last year, certain sirens having not triggered for technical reasons.Municipalities also had simply removed them, deeming them unnecessary.

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The torrential rains which struck the west of the country on July 14 and 15, causing a sudden rise in waters, especially in the regions of Bonn et Cologne, left a total of 180 dead in Germany, mainly in the Land Rhineland-Palatinate.In this region, where all the victims have not yet been identified, 74 people are also considered disappeared or unreachable.