Saud Arabia to conduct siren tests in three cities
The tests aim to raise public awareness
If you’re going to be in Riyadh, Makkah, Jeddah, and Tabuk early next month, keep reading. You need to know that the country will be conducting citywide siren tests on a specific date (mentioned below). This is what you need to know about the upcoming Saudi siren tests.
Happening on Monday November 3, the tests are no cause for concern; they aim to improve and strengthen emergency preparedness and public awareness, according to Gulf News.
Sirens will be heard over the governorates of Diriyah, Al Kharj, and Al Dilam in the Riyadh region, the governorates of the Tabuk region; Jeddah and Thuwal in the Mecca region.
The Saudi siren tests will be happening at at 1:15pm and are intended to assess how effective the Kingdom’s warning systems are and ensure the public’s readiness to respond swiftly to official alerts during crises.
The Saudi authorities have urged the public to stay calm and have also emphasised that the exercise is just a routine part of the ongoing national efforts to ensure the reliability and responsiveness of Saudi Arabia’s emergency communication systems. People living in these governorates and cities are told to take note of the procedures and cooperate.
How it will work
Citizens will hear a new behavioural alert tone at 1pm, followed by the national alert tone at 1.10pm, and finally the fixed siren test at 1.15pm.
The Civil Defence said the test will be conducted alongside warning messages sent via the National Early Warning Platform, using the cellular broadcast service to deliver alerts directly to mobile phones. These messages will be sent with distinctive audio tones to help residents recognise them as part of the emergency system.
