Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – One and a half years after the flood disaster in North Rhine-Westphalia with 49 fatalities, NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) sees progress in civil protection.
The warning of the population has been improved by more sirens, 1100 city billboards, warning apps and cell broadcast, i.e. warnings on mobile phones. More than 700 new sirens have been set up since mid-2021, and 6,000 are now available nationwide, the NRW Ministry of the Interior announced on Friday in Düsseldorf. Ten million euros are available this year for further expansion.
A central state office for civil protection is also currently being created in the Ministry of the Interior. The crisis teams of the district governments and the Ministry of the Interior should soon be able to exchange all relevant information with the control centers of the fire brigades and the rescue service, despite different computer programs, in order to be able to create a nationwide picture of the situation.
Disaster control days are to be held annually in the future. On August 26, 2023 it will be Paderborn’s turn. The aim is to increase the awareness of danger and the self-protection skills of the population. This year, the state will procure additional materials for the state disaster protection camp. These include protective clothing for fighting forest fires, tents and camp beds.
The digital radio of the authorities and organizations with security tasks (BOS) is to be supplied with emergency power nationwide this year – by their own aggregates for independent operation. The country is also procuring satellite phones for the civil protection authorities to secure communication channels. In 2023, an additional 6.3 million euros would be available in the budget for civil protection compared to the previous year.
In July 2021, after days of rain, 49 people died in NRW and at least 135 people died in northern Rhineland-Palatinate. Significant shortcomings emerged in the management of the crisis, starting with insufficient warning to the population.
