Safety regions: do not abolish air raid sirens if there is no good alternative

Several Dutch safety regions want the air raid siren to only be abolished if there is a 'full-fledged and proven alternative'. The Dutch cabinet wants to abolish air raid sirens, but according to the safety regions this is 'unacceptable' if there is no good alternative.

The Dutch cabinet announced last month that the air raid siren will be phased out after January 1, 2028. Then only NL-Alert remains as 'primary alert tool'. The Dutch safety regions of Rotterdam-Rijnmond, South Limburg, Utrecht and South Holland South find this unacceptable, NOS writes. Safety regions are responsible for crisis response.

The safety regions fear how people can be alerted if there is a prolonged power outage, or how people can be reached without a (charged) smartphone. In addition, the regions say that the NL-Alert messages cannot be understood by everyone, for example because they do not speak or read the Dutch language well. According to the security regions, NL-Alert is also susceptible to disruptions and cyber incidents.

The Ministry of Justice and Security promised to work on an alternative, but according to the security regions, that system seems to focus mainly on military (air) threats. The safety regions believe that this system can also be used for 'broader risks' such as cyber incidents, extreme weather conditions and floods.

It is not the first time that safety regions have criticized the abolition of the air raid siren. That also happened in 2024, when there was talk of phasing out the air raid siren in 2025. That was then postponed. The current government says that the siren network is now outdated and that there is no money for a new system. That is why the air raid siren is being phased out.