DDue to the flood disaster and the corona pandemic, the federal government has decided to take the first step of a new prevention strategy.Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Sihofer (CSU) pledged to cooperate more closely with the federal and state governments on disaster control after the Federal Cabinet meeting in Berlin on Wednesday. At the same time, he promised that when floods and other dangers occur in the future, they should warn the public through text messages.
Seehofer said that Armin Schuster, chairman of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), commissioned a feasibility study to issue warnings via cellular broadcast in the spring. Schuster assumes this will happen Bundestag election The expected results will be positive.
Through cell broadcast, a message is sent to mobile phone users in a manner similar to a short message-to all recipients currently in the relevant radio cell. Data protectionists believe that this technology, which has been used in many other countries, is relatively harmless. Seehofer stated that a mixture of analog and digital methods is needed to warn of acute hazards. The siren itself is not a panacea, because “just sounding a warning is not enough, people must also know what to do.”
The “National Health Protection Reserve” currently decided by the Cabinet aims to become the first part of a comprehensive civil protection strategy. In the medium term, it is necessary to improve preparations for crises such as floods and major fires. BBK also plans to establish a joint federal and state competence center in which the Bundeswehr and aid organizations will also participate.
Federal Minister of Health Jens Spann (CDU) believes that Germany is better prepared for future crises through new reserves. He said the COVID-19 pandemic has painfully proven dependence. “It’s always more expensive to buy in an emergency,” Spann said. The reserve is intended to be used for epidemics and disasters, such as those in western Germany and where Germany must support its allies.
The “National Health Protection Reserve” aims to meet the six-month needs of the health sector and the federal government, and “realize humanitarian assistance by providing protective equipment to the World Health Organization and third countries.” This will be achieved “by storing goods and providing production capacity and new products.”
Nara Federal government The consequences of the lack of conditions that became apparent during the corona pandemic. At first, the protective clothing and masks were gone. For a while, Covid-19 testing was in short supply.
“What we can usually still improve is to communicate with each other,” Seehofer said, referring to the planned Backgammon Competence Center. Sihofer said that BBK’s resources are currently mainly responsible for defensive cases and should be better used in peacetime in the future. In addition to the implementation of the concept of repositioning the Bonn authorities already proposed in March, “small legal changes” may be required in the fall.
Consider whether it should continue to operate in such a way that each disaster control manager in his city decides when to issue a warning to the public, or does it make more sense for the state authorities to take measures automatically? Take action at a specific level of risk. According to Seehofer, he is about “providing more rather than supporting state policy changes,” not taking away capacity from states. Although all reforms have been planned, it must be honestly said: “We cannot guarantee 100% protection.”
Every Tuesday
