The drill starts at 11 am and will last around 15 minutes. During that time, warning sirens will go off to alert people of a chemical hazard and messages will be sent to mobile phones belonging to people in the affected area.
The goal is to check the sirens work properly, make members of the public familiar with the sound and remind them that confinement is the self-protection measure to adopt in the case of a chemical accident. The test will be limited to the port area and Zona Franca.
What will the test be like?
The alert from the Civil Protection service will be sent to mobile phones to notify people of the drill. A few minutes later the sirens will be activated with the confinement signal (similar to an ambulance siren). The starting alert consists of three one-minute signals, separated by a five-second silence. When the test is over, the chemical hazard sirens will signal the end of confinement with a higher-pitch tone.
The mobile phone alert consists of a text message with the heading “Civil Protection siren and alert test”. Members of the public in the areas where the test is to be conducted are recommended to check the configuration of their phones to be able to receive the alert. The reception area will not coincide 100% with the area where the chemical hazard sirens can be heard.
Assessment
A brief survey will be carried out to assess the siren test and whether people receive the mobile alert in the areas in question. The survey will be active from the same Wednesday and can be answered from any phone, anonymously, without giving any personal data.