Air raid siren to disappear in 2028 due to lack of funds for new system

The Netherlands air raid sirens, tested every first Monday of the month, will disappear in 2028. The government could not get the funds together to replace the outdated system, Minister David van Weel of Justice and Security said in a letter to parliament.

The siren will be phased out starting on January 1, 2028, due to “the lack of financial resources for a new siren network,” Van Weel said.

The Minister will work with the Netherlands Institute for Public Safety and the local safety offices to plan the phase-out. He will also examine whether a tailored approach is possible for locations with a higher risk.

After the phase-out, the NL-Alert will be the “primary alerting tool” for residents of the Netherlands during emergencies. The government can reach approximately 92 percent of the population with this mobile-phone-based emergency warning, which it tests twice a year at noon on the first Monday of June and December.

At the end of last year, the government extended its contracts with the siren suppliers until the end of next year. When this term expires, the contract will not be renewed, Van Weel said.