On March 1st, the World Civil Defence Day is celebrated throughout the country.
An emergency situation of a natural or man-made nature is always a real threat to people's lives and health. The absence of an alert in such a case can lead to panic, material damage, and, most frighteningly, loss of life.
Today, a civil defence alert system has been established in Belarus and, importantly, is being improved at the republican, territorial, local, and facility levels. Its main task is to promptly convey information about all types of dangers and about instructions for carrying out protective measures.
Emergency alert signals are transmitted via radio and television broadcasting networks, wired communication, and SMS messages to mobile phones. Sirens are also activated, and signals from vehicles and street loudspeakers are used.
The generally accepted civil defence signals are: "Attention all!", "Air raid alert", "All clear", "Radiation hazard", "Chemical alert".
In the event of a large-scale threat or the occurrence of an accident, disaster, or natural calamity, the "Attention all!" signal is immediately given, which warns the population about the danger of mass poisoning of people, animals, and plants with harmful chemical substances, exposure to radioactive substances, as well as radioactive contamination of the area.
First and foremost, the "Attention all!" warning signal is given to attract people's attention. It can be recognised by the sound of electric sirens and other signalling devices for 3 minutes. If you hear such a signal at home, you should immediately turn on your radio receivers or televisions. At this time, an emergency message is broadcast, which describes the emergency situation that has occurred and provides all the necessary recommendations for subsequent actions. If you are at work, turn off your equipment. Prepare the wired broadcasting nodes located in the alerted area, turn on radio and television stations. Inform others about the received signal and prepare to listen to the voice information. Further behaviour should be determined directly by these instructions.
Chemically hazardous facilities have their own local alert systems, which must be kept in a state of constant readiness to transmit signals and information. This system informs not only the head and personnel of the facility about the danger, but also the population within the zone of potential impact.