Viktor Saaremets, deputy director general of the Rescue Board, said that the elimination of deficiencies identified during the spring public alarm system test mean Estonia now has a fully functional hazard warning system.

Saaremets told ERR that during Wednesday's test, all siren posts in Estonia, in 22 different locations, were activated.

"According to the information available to us, all siren posts were activated within 10 seconds," he said.

Saaremets added that the problems associated with the spring test had been resolved during the summer.

"In a very short time, Estonia has essentially gone from zero to where we are today, meaning we now have a functioning emergency notification system that reaches all Estonian residents in one form or another," Saaremets said.

During the test, a network of sirens was activated across Estonia, notifications were sent to the Eesti and Ole valmis! mobile apps, and warning ticker messages were displayed on ERR's TV channels.

The preliminary alert began at noon, when people began receiving SMS messages about the test. Within around half an hour, the preliminary information reached 1 million devices. On this occasion, SMS was only used as a preliminary form of alert, with no additional message sent during the test itself, according to the Rescue Board.

The main purpose of the test was to evaluate the operations of the siren network. The test made it possible to check whether the siren network was functioning properly after the replacement of electronics and other repairs, which were carried out in the summer.

Volume measurements were also recorded in six Estonian cities to analyze whether the siren network needs to be adapted or modified.

The sirens were activated at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. According to preliminary data, all siren stations in Estonia were activated within seconds and at the required volumes. Sound measurements were taken during the test, and the results of the analysis will allow the Rescue Board, in cooperation with SMIT, to assess whether the siren network is in need of any upgrades.

As of Wednesday, December 10, the Eesti app has been downloaded by approximately 183,000 people. According to the initial data, Wednesday's alert reached 155,000 devices. The Ole valmis! app has been downloaded a total of 168,000 times. The test notification reached users quickly through both apps, with the final figures still to be confirmed.

Feedback on the test can be provided via the website www.kriis.ee. This will help the Rescue Board assess the overall functionality of the system and identify possible shortcomings. 

The next major EE-ALARM test is planned for the spring.

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