The Denver Office of Emergency Management will conduct an annual live test of the city’s all-hazard outdoor warning sirens at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Sirens will sound continuously for approximately three minutes while city officials evaluate new remote activation technology.

The test does not require any action.

“As severe weather patterns continue to shift, our alerting systems must adapt to keep pace,” Office of Emergency Management Executive Director Matthew Mueller said. “By activating sirens for destructive storms and catastrophic flash floods – not just tornadoes – and pairing those alerts with Wireless Emergency Alerts to mobile devices, we’re strengthening our ability to warn our community quickly and save lives.”

The city operates 86 sirens — 75 of them are located within Denver and 11 at Denver International Airport.

While originally intended for tornado warnings, the city now uses the sirens to alert the public to a range of hazards, including severe weather, hazardous material incidents, terrorism, civil unrest and fires.

According to a statement from the Office of Emergency Management, sirens will be used more frequently beginning this year, including during destructive storms and catastrophic flash floods.

When sirens are activated, the public will also receive alerts on their mobile phones with important safety information.