The Emergencies Ministry has installed warning sirens at 272 mosques in seven provinces as part of an effort to widen its early warning system, the ministry’s press service said.
The equipment lets the ministry’s urgent alerts be relayed through mosques’ external loudspeakers. The devices are in Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Namangan, Samarkand, Syrdarya, Tashkent and Fergana provinces, which face a high level of natural hazards.
The initiative is being carried out under a joint project of the ministry and the United Nations Development Programme, a ministry official said. Reports about the installations and testing had spread on social media.
Alerts through mosques can reach about 6.5 million people, including women, men, children and vulnerable groups, the ministry said. The channel also works if mobile communications or the power supply are disrupted.
“The choice of mosques is no accident: they are traditionally regarded as influential social institutions among local residents,” a ministry press service employee said. “The earthquake resistance of mosques is also taken into account when they are built.”
The ministry is also working to create a system for notifying residents of emergency risks in all areas of the country.
Earlier, a fire was reported in the dome of a new mosque under construction in Tashkent.
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