Full-Scale Earthquake Response Exercise in the cross-border-region of Germany, Austria and Switzerland

ended

The number of extreme events - caused by nature and man – has steadily increased in recent years. These events can increasingly no longer be managed by civil protection agencies of a country alone. It is therefore particularly important to intensify cross-border and pan-European cooperation and to coordinate cooperation in the best possible way. UCPM plays a particularly important role here in and beyond Europe's borders. In Baden-Württemberg, as the supreme civil protection agency, the Ministry of the Interior is responsible for the protection of over 11 million people and wants to be prepared to manage any future extreme events to protect the population. Baden-Württemberg's civil protection system has already proven itself in everyday practice as well as in the case of major damage events. Baden-Württemberg has identified UCPM as an additional resource for Baden-Württemberg's civil protection system. For Baden-Württemberg, exercises in the UCPM and the associated incoming assistance represents an absolute added value, since there are no empirical values for this in Baden-Württemberg to date. Along with the neighboring countries of Switzerland and Austria, local aid workers and managers at all levels can familiarize themselves with UCPM processes and further expand the cross-border cooperation that has been successfully implemented for years. A natural extreme event conceivable for Baden-Württemberg based on scientific knowledge would be an earthquake. Due to the cascade effects, additional extreme events such as a CBRN situation as well as extreme property damage and personal injury are to be expected. In addition to the aspect of cooperation, the scenario in this exercise should also enable all partners and participating organizations to better network with each other. The promotion of regular communication at a working level can achieve further synergistic effects that will benefit all parties involved, both in their own countries and in partner countries.