Civil protection: those affected complain about a lack of warning

The situation in the flood areas in Germany remains tense. The search for the guilty party is picking up speed – an overview of the topic of disaster control.

Frankfurt – (Advance) warnings and evacuations can save lives in the event of natural disasters. This also applies to the storms and the subsequent floods in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). More than 160 people died there. In addition to those affected, outsiders, weather experts and politicians also complain about the inadequate disaster control in Germany. School assignments get loud.

A British researcher called the situation of civil protection in Germany * a “monumental system failure” to the Times. There were signs of storms and impending floods days before the disaster in western Germany, said Hannah Cloke. She is Professor of Hydrology at the University of Reading – and was instrumental in creating the European Flood Warning System (Efas).

British researcher on civil protection in Germany: “Something went wrong”

The disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia killed over 160 people. According to Cloke, this could have been prevented (at least partially). Missing warnings and evacuations showed “something went wrong,” Cloke told the Sunday Times.

“You could see what was coming several days beforehand,” the researcher told ZDF *. The necessary warnings from the various weather services have been sent. She explained: “But somewhere this warning chain is broken, so that the messages have not reached the people.”

Disaster control in Germany: warning apps provide information about severe weather

“But there wasn’t even a siren alarm. And the WDR didn’t bring anything, ”said 78-year-old Johanna Brückner to the Spiegel. The WDR had come under massive criticism because of its incomplete reporting. Johanna Brückner personally underestimated the situation, she says. It was only when her daughter found out about the potential danger via the warning app Nina that the family realized how serious the situation was.

The Nina warning app is operated by the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (BBK). Local authorities can feed reports here. It works in a similar way with the Katwarn app from the Fraunhofer Institute. However, there are no reporting requirements.

Disaster control in Germany: the role of the German weather service

The German Weather Service (DWD) also uses the WarnWetter app to provide information about official warnings. However, the DWD is a higher federal authority. The federal states and municipalities are responsible in the event of a flood disaster, in which case the respective state laws on fire and disaster protection apply. The federal government can “help out” on request and provide the THW and the federal police, among other things.

For example, the DWD had declared the highest warning level in many places. The official weather warnings had been forwarded to the responsible authorities and the media, said a DWD spokesman. The DWD is not responsible for supervising the implementation of measures such as evacuation or for assessing their appropriateness. The DWD * also warned of storms in Bavaria in recent days.

Disaster control in Germany: FDP speaks of “considerable system failure”

An affected firefighter from North Rhine-Westphalia spoke to Der Spiegel that “the decision-making bodies apparently knew what was brewing. But nobody told us that. “

In addition to him, many people in Germany are now criticizing disaster control – which just did not “protect”. Michael Theurer (FDP *) said that the Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU *) was to blame. The latter did not pass on the warnings of the meteorologists “sufficiently” to the citizens. Theurer continues: “The picture of a considerable system failure emerges, for which the Federal Minister of the Interior Seehofer bears direct personal responsibility.” The opposition calls for Seehofer’s resignation.

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But the federal government has only limited responsibility. The responsibility lies with the federal states. With this statement, the BKK also rejects allegations about the disaster in West Germany. The warnings had been passed on to the federal states, said BBK President Armin Schuster. He continued: “We have no influence on how these warnings are dealt with on site.”

Disaster control in Germany: how can civil protection be improved?

Karl-Heinz Banse, President of the German Fire Brigade Association, said that individual residents would have received the warnings days in advance via one of the warning apps. However, that is not enough. “Many people sleep at night and can’t hear their cell phones,” Banse told the Berliner Morgenpost. Older people are particularly affected. He continues: “The apps also report warnings on a regular basis. This harbors the risk of wear and tear on the population. ”The same side effects could also be caused by SMS warnings.

Bernd Althusmann asked for a mixture of the various alarm options. “We should now quickly establish an alarm mix with sirens, loudspeaker announcements and a nationwide warning system via SMS for improved civil protection,” said the CDU * state chief of Lower Saxony.

Experts have long criticized the fact that many municipalities have few or no sirens at all. However, sirens could also reach people who either do not have a cell phone or who do not hear the warnings. The BBK is currently working on an overview of the sirens in Germany. This should be ready by the end of 2021. In addition, the federal government had only recently discussed the increase and construction of the sirens and decided that 88 million euros should flow into this project. (jey / dpa) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

List of rubric lists: © Boris Roessler / dpa