Alertswiss, sirens and civil-protection alerts in Vaud
What the Swiss sirens and the Alertswiss app are for, when the annual siren test happens, and what to do if a real alert comes. Practical orientation for international students and newcomers near EPFL. Unofficial guide; in a real event, the instructions of the authorities always come first.
Key facts
- Alertswiss is the official alert and information channel of the federal government and the cantons. The free app (iOS and Android) and the website alert.swiss show the same messages.
- Sirens remain the most reliable way to alert many people quickly, even when other means of communication fail (Vaud).
- Annual siren test: first Wednesday of February. The next one is Wednesday 3 February 2027, between 13:30 and 16:30. You do not need to do anything during the test.
- If the general alarm sounds outside the test: listen to the radio or check Alertswiss, follow the authorities' instructions, and tell your neighbours.
- Personal emergency (fire, accident, medical)? Alertswiss is one-way. Call the emergency numbers on Health emergencies.
Set up the Alertswiss app (5 minutes)
- Install Alertswiss from the App Store or Google Play. It is free and published by the Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP).
- Allow notifications.
- Add Vaud as a favourite canton (Settings, Favourites, Configure). Add another canton too if you often travel there.
- Optional: turn on location notifications so you also get messages for where you are. FOCP says your location is not passed to the federal authorities.
- Leave critical alerts switched on (see below).
- Run the push notification test in the app settings.
The app follows your phone's language if it is German, French, Italian or English. The authority sending a message (usually the canton or cantonal police) decides which languages it is published in, and not every message exists in all four. If a message is not available in your phone's language, it appears in the sender's language, so in Vaud expect some messages in French only.
Source: Alertswiss, FAQ · Alertswiss app
How Alertswiss messages work
| Level | Colour | Meaning (Alertswiss FAQ) |
|---|---|---|
| Alert | Red | Immediate danger. Comes with mandatory instructions. |
| Warning | Orange | Potential danger or impending incident. Recommendations, not mandatory. |
| Information | Blue | Important for civil protection, but no immediate threat. |
- Who sends them: the agencies managing the incident, in most cases the cantons or cantonal police. Only authorised authorities can publish.
- What a message contains: the incident and danger, the affected area, what to do, where to get more information (hotlines, websites), and the responsible authority.
- Location notifications cover roughly 1 km beyond cantonal borders, so near a border you may also get a neighbouring canton's messages.
- Critical alerts: at the Alert level the app can play a sound and show on the lock screen even in silent or Do Not Disturb mode. On iOS (app version 2.11 and later) this overrides silent and Do Not Disturb (with a paired Apple Watch, only a system sound plays on the watch). On Android it can override Do Not Disturb at high volume, but not Vibrate or Silent. You can switch this off in your phone settings; FOCP recommends leaving it on.
- You need a data connection (mobile or Wi-Fi) at the moment a message is sent. Messages stay visible as long as they are valid.
- Choose levels: you can switch push notifications on or off per level (alert, warning, information) in the app settings.
- Abroad: the app works, but only shows messages for Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Typical hazards covered include drinking-water contamination, power cuts and forest fires (Alertswiss FAQ).
Source: Alertswiss, FAQ
Sirens: the two signals
| Signal | Sound | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| General alarm | A regular rising and falling tone lasting one minute, repeated once within five minutes at the latest | A possible danger to the population | Turn on the radio or check Alertswiss, follow the authorities' instructions, inform your neighbours |
| Water alarm | Twelve low continuous tones of 20 seconds each, with 10-second gaps, repeated once within five minutes at the latest | Only in zones below dams: risk of flooding | Leave the endangered area immediately and follow instructions |
After a general alarm, information is always given by radio and Alertswiss. The authorities recommend keeping a battery radio with spare batteries at home.
Vaud's checklist after a general alarm: listen to the radio or TV or check the Alertswiss app or website, follow the authorities' instructions, inform your neighbours.
Sources: Alertswiss, Respond correctly when in danger · FOCP, Annual siren test · État de Vaud, Alarme à la population et sirènes · Population Protection Ordinance (OPop, SR 520.12, FR), art. 30
The annual siren test
| Official details | |
|---|---|
| When | Every year on the first Wednesday of February, 13:30 to 16:30. Next test: Wednesday 3 February 2027 (FOCP advance notice of 10 June 2026). |
| General alarm test | Sounded across Switzerland at 13:30 (one minute). If needed, the test may continue until 14:00. |
| Water alarm test | 14:00 to 16:30 at the latest, only in risk zones below dams. |
| Alertswiss | At the same time, each canton (and Liechtenstein) sends an Information-level message through the app, so nobody mistakes the test for a real alarm. Information messages do not play a siren sound on your phone. |
| What you do | Nothing. No protective measures are needed. |
In Vaud, the 2026 test checked 428 fixed sirens (420 working) and 185 mobile sirens (177 working); the canton plans repairs by 31 March of the test year.
Sources: FOCP, Annual siren test · FOCP, advance information: sirens and Alertswiss tested on 3 February 2027 (PDF, German) · Alertswiss, Testing sirens · Population Protection Ordinance (OPop, SR 520.12, FR), art. 32 · État de Vaud, Alarme à la population et sirènes
During a real event: general rules
From Alertswiss, after a general alarm:
- Contact the emergency services only in a real emergency.
- Avoid non-essential use of your phone and the internet (networks can overload).
- Avoid non-essential car or transport use (congestion).
- Drive with extra care: traffic lights and barriers may not work.
- Inform and help neighbours, friends and family who may need help.
Source: Alertswiss, Respond correctly when in danger
Vaud: emergency meeting points (PRU)
In a disaster or emergency, Vaud communes can open an emergency meeting point (Point de rencontre d'urgence, PRU): a set place near you where people from an affected area can go for information and help. According to the canton, a PRU can offer:
- a first place to go and get information from the authorities,
- access to emergency services when phones do not work,
- distribution of basics such as drinking water, food or emergency accommodation,
- a gathering point for evacuation.
PRUs are usually in public buildings such as schools, gyms or community halls, and are marked with specific signs when the authorities open them. They can be opened one by one, so check the radio or Alertswiss to know which are active. Find yours on the cantonal map: PRU layer on the Guichet cartographique cantonal (or open geo.vd.ch, theme "Sécurité", then "Points de rencontre d'urgence - PRU").
Paper copies of the cantonal PRU brochure (sent to all households in April 2025) can be ordered from info.protpop@vd.ch while stocks last.
Source: État de Vaud, Point de rencontre d'urgence (PRU)
Vaud: emergency notices and shelters
- Emergency notices: the canton publishes short Notices d'urgence on what to do before, during and after storms, power cuts, forest fires, heatwaves, floods, earthquakes, cyberattacks and other hazards. They are published in French. Worth reading once. See État de Vaud, Les notices d'urgence.
- Shelters: under federal law every inhabitant must have a protected place in a shelter near home, and communes are responsible for this. If ever needed, the canton assigns places through the regional civil-protection organisations, on federal orders. Today no action is required from the population. Many building shelters are used as cellars in peacetime; if the Confederation orders it, they must be cleared and prepared within 5 days or less. Public shelters are shown on the cantonal map (Guichet cartographique cantonal, theme "Sécurité"). Vaud adds that shelter planning is based on the permanent resident population (more than one year), with margin because cantonal capacity exceeds the total population.
- Supplies: in normal times Vaud recommends keeping food and water for 7 days at home.
- Iodine tablets: households within 50 km of an active Swiss nuclear power plant (Beznau, Gösgen, Leibstadt) receive them automatically. No Vaud commune is on the federal list of communes in that zone, so in Lausanne and around EPFL you do not get tablets at home; the canton keeps stocks for its whole population and would distribute them on its order if an event required it. Take them only when the authorities say so. Plants being dismantled, such as the former Mühleberg plant, no longer count for this distribution.
Sources: État de Vaud, Abris (FAQ) · État de Vaud, Les notices d'urgence · Iodine tablets Switzerland, distribution 2023 (FR) · Iodine Tablets Ordinance (SR 814.52, FR), annex
Heatwave warnings and the Vaud heat plan: see Heat and summer health in Vaud.
Make a simple emergency plan
Alertswiss offers a personal emergency plan: who to contact, where to meet, what to take. Fill it in directly in the app or use the PDF form, available in 13 languages (including English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, Arabic and Ukrainian). FOCP says the data you enter stays on your device unless you share it.
For students far from family, it helps to note: a local contact, your EPFL contact points, your embassy, and how family abroad can reach you.
Sources: Alertswiss, Emergency plan · Alertswiss, FAQ (data protection)