As we mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on 13 October, this year’s theme, “Resilience Starts at Home”, reminds us that preparedness begins with simple actions taken before an emergency occurs. One of the easiest ways to strengthen our resilience is to ensure we can receive timely and reliable information when it matters most.

At CERN, safety is a shared responsibility that extends beyond our sites and across the French–Swiss border region where many of us live and travel every day. In an emergency, receiving the right information quickly can make all the difference. Preparedness is a cornerstone of resilience, and staying connected to trusted alert systems is one practical way each of us can contribute to a safer community.

To strengthen our collective preparedness, we encourage all members of the CERN community to make sure they can receive both CERN emergency notifications and official alerts issued by the Host State authorities.

Three simple actions can help you stay informed:

• Install the CERN Campus App and enable notifications. This is CERN’s primary channel for communicating emergency information and site-specific alerts to the CERN community.
• Install AlertSwiss and activate push notifications on your smartphone. Switzerland’s official alert platform provides real-time information on incidents and hazards that may affect your current location or selected regions.
• Familiarise yourself with how FR-Alert works when travelling or living in France. FR-Alert sends emergency notifications directly to mobile phones located in affected areas. No app download or registration is required, but familiarising yourself with the system will help you recognise and respond to alerts when they are issued.

Staying connected to trusted information sources is a simple but important step in protecting yourself and those around you. Being prepared takes only a few minutes, but it can help you react quickly and appropriately when every second counts. As the theme of this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction highlights, resilience starts before an emergency happens. By ensuring you can receive alerts from CERN and the Host States, you are taking a small but meaningful step towards being prepared.