Emergency Preparedness in Austria
Austria asks households to keep more supplies than almost any other country in Europe: food and water for 10 to 14 days. It also has a nationwide siren network with three clearly different signals, and since 2024 sends alerts to mobile phones with AT-Alert. This page explains the system in English for residents, students, workers and visitors.
Emergency numbers
- 112 European emergency number
- 122 Fire brigade
- 133 Police
- 144 Ambulance
- 1450 Health advice line
How you will be warned
Siren signals
- Warning (Warnung): a steady tone for three minutes. Danger is approaching. Turn on ORF radio or television, or check orf.at.
- Alarm: a rising and falling tone for one minute. Danger. Go to a protected place and follow the instructions broadcast by ORF.
- All clear (Entwarnung): a steady tone for one minute. The danger is over.
AT-Alert
- AT-Alert sends alerts to phones logged into the mobile network in the affected area, with a noticeable sound even on silent. You do not register or install an app.
- It is used for dangers such as extreme weather, floods and forest fires.
The annual test
- Every year on the first Saturday of October, between 12:00 and 12:45, all four signals are tested: a 15-second test sound at 12:00, warning at 12:15, alarm at 12:30 and all clear at 12:45. AT-Alert test messages are sent between 12:00 and 13:00.
What the authorities ask you to have at home
The Austrian government recommends that households store food and water for at least 10 to 14 days, with about 2.5 litres of water per person per day:
- Drinking water and food that keeps and needs little cooking
- A way to cook and heat without electricity
- A battery radio, flashlight, spare batteries and candles
- Medicines, a first aid kit and hygiene items
- Cash
Work out the amounts with our kit calculator, which can calculate for 14 days, and see the home kit.
Main risks to prepare for
- Floods, landslides and avalanches
- Storms and heavy snow
- A large blackout, which Austrian authorities treat as a key scenario
- Forest fires and heatwaves
- Nuclear incidents in neighbouring countries
Words you will see and hear
- Warnung, Alarm, Entwarnung: warning, alarm, all clear
- Zivilschutz-Probealarm: civil protection test alarm
- AT-Alert: the mobile alert system
- Bevorratung, Notvorrat: household supplies
- Blackout, Stromausfall: blackout, power outage
- Hochwasser: flood
- Lawine, Mure: avalanche, mudslide
Official information
- Oesterreich.gv.at: emergencies and disasters (German)
- Austrian Civil Protection Association
- GeoSphere Austria: weather warnings
See emergency preparedness in other European countries.
Sources
- Oesterreich.gv.at: warning signals and AT-Alert (German)
- Vienna.at: civil protection test on Saturday (October 2026)
- News.at: Austria's 10 to 14-day supply recommendation (German)
Independent educational summary, not an official publication. Always follow instructions from Austrian authorities. Last reviewed: November 2026.