Overview
- Federal app NINA is run by the BBK, draws weather data from the Deutscher Wetterdienst and sends configurable, location-based push alerts while labeling some flood-level push messages as supplementary information rather than formal warnings.
- Katwarn relays official warnings written by authorised authorities, can target very small areas and deliver messages by app push, SMS, email or public displays, and is linked into the federal modular warning system MoWaS.
- The DWD Warnwetter app supplies detailed weather hazards and configurable alerts but typically stops short of issuing concrete action commands, leaving choices about measures to users or local authorities.
- The European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) delivers flood forecasts to national authorities rather than to citizens, so its signals must be forwarded by national or local agencies before people receive them.
- Uneven uptake and different technical delivery methods across states and municipalities have left coverage and guidance patchy during recent floods and wildfires, prompting public scrutiny and calls for clearer coordination between BBK, DWD, Katwarn users and local authorities.