Staying Informed When the Internet Fails
The current situation is not in this guide — it is shown live in the situation centre (
00-START.html, section "Situation now") and in the tools of this package, as long as the internet works. This guide explains how to get reliable information when the network or power fails.
Order of information sources in an emergency
- Official warnings — sirens, phone alerts (cell broadcast), warning apps, loudspeaker announcements. They always take priority.
- Radio (FM, medium wave, DAB+) — the most important source during a power and internet outage. Public broadcasters usually pass on official warnings immediately.
- Offline knowledge — this package, Kiwix/Wikipedia (guide 15), your printed emergency folder.
- Talking to people locally — neighbours, fire brigade, information points of your municipality. Always cross-check with official information.
Radio — your lifeline
- Keep a wind-up/battery radio ready (guide 12, hardware list); the car radio works too (run the engine now and then to protect the battery)
- Write down stations now: your regional public broadcaster + your country's national news station, with the frequencies for where you live. Recommendations for your region: see the region box in the portal.
- Regional station: …… Frequency: ……
- National: …… Frequency: ……
- Fixed listening times (e.g. the news on the hour) instead of leaving it on all the time — saves batteries and nerves
- Large transmitter sites usually have backup power and keep broadcasting during a power cut — your receiver only needs batteries
Official warning systems
Which systems exist differs from country to country — the official warning apps, websites and the civil-protection authority responsible for your country are listed in the region box.
- Cell broadcast: warnings sent straight to your phone, without an app or registration. In your phone settings under "Emergency alerts/Wireless emergency alerts", leave all levels switched on.
- Warning apps: examples — Germany: NINA, KATWARN, BIWAPP; Switzerland: Alertswiss. Set them up with your home location and your current location.
- Sirens: the signals differ from country to country. In Germany: a 1-minute rising and falling tone = warning → switch on the radio; a 1-minute continuous tone = all clear (details: guide 19). The official authority of your country publishes the signals that apply to you.
- Loudspeaker vans of the police/fire brigade during large-scale incidents
- Local contact points: during longer outages, many municipalities set up information points (often fire stations, town halls; in Germany e.g. "Notfalltreffpunkte" or "Katastrophenschutz-Leuchttürme"). Ask your municipality now and write it down: ……
While the internet works: the tools in this package
The tools continuously collect situation information and store the latest state locally. If the network fails, this state remains readable — always check the timestamp.
| Tool | Folder / file | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Situation centre | 00-START.html |
"Situation now": summary of all monitors with timestamps; outdated data is flagged |
| World snapshot / situation map | weltlage\LAGEKARTE.html |
caches important live data (earthquakes, disasters, humanitarian situations, war situation from international news, air traffic, energy, economy) readable offline |
| OSINT analysis | osint-analyse\ |
the local AI evaluates public news and official warnings (guide 16) |
| Situation monitor | lage-monitor\ |
simple traffic light for your location |
| Air situation monitor, early warning | luftlage\, fruehwarnung\ |
air-raid alerts, breaking news, government comparison (guides 19, 24) |
| Supply radar | versorgung\ |
fuel, gas, electricity, food, water, radiation (guide 18) |
| Risk map, webcam map | risiko-karte\, webcam-karte\ |
escalation risk by region, public cameras (guide 17) |
Some sources only exist in certain countries (e.g. NINA in Germany, Alertswiss in Switzerland). Where a source is not available for your region, the tools show "Not available in your region" and carry on with the other sources.
Outage maps and social media
- Outage maps (electricity, mobile network, internet) exist in many countries, as websites of the network operators or as independent aggregator sites (in Germany e.g. störungsauskunft.de). Bookmark the one for where you live now.
- Official accounts of authorities and network operators on social networks often report outages quickly — but only while the internet works.
- Following sites without an account/API: tools such as RSS-Bridge (open source, runs locally) generate RSS feeds for many sites that have none; together with an RSS reader (e.g. Thunderbird) you can keep an eye on news sites. Access to big platforms changes often — do not rely on it; outage maps and official sources are more stable.
Spotting false reports
In a crisis, rumours spread faster than facts.
- Who is saying this? An official body, a well-known news outlet — or "a friend of a friend"?
- Do two independent, reputable sources confirm it? Radio and official warnings take priority.
- Check the date and time: old pictures and reports are often passed off as "current".
- Strong emotions (panic, anger) are a warning sign — check first, then share.
- Do not forward anything unverified, not even "just in case".
Information discipline
- Fixed times for news (e.g. morning, midday, evening) instead of constant listening — reduces stress, saves battery
- One person in the household is in charge of information: listens to the radio, writes down important points with the time on paper
- Write down important announcements (evacuation, drinking water, contact points) immediately and pass them on to neighbours