SHARE
COPY LINK

WEATHER

‘Things didn’t go optimally’: Germany’s disaster chief admits mistakes in flood warning system

Germany is to look at new measures to warn residents about dangerous situations after the disaster management chief admitted things didn't go as well as they could have in the flooding catastrophe.

'Things didn't go optimally': Germany's disaster chief admits mistakes in flood warning system
A Bundeswehr rescue boat in Rech, Rhineland-Palatinate on July 20th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Thomas Frey

A week after floods hit western regions claiming the lives of more than 170 people and destroying towns and infrastructure, German authorities are facing tough questions over disaster warning system. 

Critics say the government did not do enough to warn residents about the floods despite being alerted on July 10th to the possibility of catastrophic weather by the European flood service EFAS.

Germany’s civil protection and disaster management system is mainly controlled at the state and district level. But the flood disaster has exposed blind spots.

READ ALSO: Why Germany faces tough questions over disaster response

Now Armin Schuster, the head of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), has admitted things didn’t go “optimally”.

“The tragedy is beyond words,” Schuster told ARD’s Morgenmagazin on Thursday, adding that things “didn’t go optimally”.

On the subject of flood warnings, Schuster added that “incredibly many” people played a role in the reporting chain.

“My office has a lot of expertise and little jurisdiction. We only push the warning button in the event of war,” Schuster emphasised, referring to the fact that the federal government is only responsible for civil protection in the event of defence. “Otherwise, we make our system available to the states and municipalities and they use it. That works, too.”

The question now is how to improve the warning system, he said. Schuster mentioned introducing more sirens and digital warnings that would be sent out to everyone affected via text message – so-called ‘cell broadcasting’. 

READ ALSO: Germany approves €400 million relief package for flood victims

Local authorities can use sirens, loudspeaker announcements or radio and TV bulletins to warn residents of acute danger or issue evacuation orders.

For digital alerts, Germany relies on various mobile phone apps – such as NINA and Katwarn – to warn or inform people about important incidents, disasters and dangerous situations, as well as severe weather. But people have to download the apps to be warned. 

Schuster said Germany’s Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) has decided that warnings will be directly sent to residents in future via cell broadcasting.

“The issue of sirens, cell broadcasting, is guaranteed to have an impact in the next two or three years,” Schuster said.

READ ALSO: Rebuilding Germany’s flood-ravaged areas ‘will take years’

Germany has so far chosen not to base its widespread digital emergency alerts on this SMS system, unlike other countries such as the Netherlands, Greece, Romania, Italy, or the USA.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and BKK chief Armin Schuster in Bad Neuenahr on July 19th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Thomas Frey

Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer said earlier this week that politicians hadn’t put this system in place due to data protection (Datenschutz) concerns.

“I am in favour of having these push messages reach citizens via mobile phone providers as well,” the CSU politician told Bild. “But that has always failed because the political will has been lacking in some places.”

READ ALSO: Why weren’t all residents of Germany’s flood zones alerted via text?

Centralised response?

The disaster has also raised questions over how large a role the federal government should play in extreme weather situations. The central government only steps in when the district or state declares a state of emergency. 

However, Interior Minister Seehofer pushed back against this idea, saying local knowledge is needed. 

“It would be completely inconceivable for such a catastrophe to be managed centrally from any one place,” he said. “You need local knowledge.”

German opposition parties have also called for Seehofer to resign due to alleged failings in the country’s disaster response. 

Michael Theurer, deputy parliamentary chairman of the centrist Free Democratic Party (FDP), said the events “paint a picture of a considerable system failure for which the Federal Minister of the Interior Seehofer bears direct personal responsibility”.

Seehofer hit back saying local authorities needed to take greater responsibility and that the criticism was just “very cheap election rhetoric”.

The disaster has also put climate change at the top of the agenda in Germany ahead of the elections on September 26th. 

Member comments

  1. The SMS emergency system was deployed in Canada. It’s a total disaster of incompetence. Police have no understanding on how to use it, 90% of people ignore it. To be effective, it needs serious discipline. I can believe that Bundespolizei might be able to cope while the OPP can’t, but then…

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

WEATHER

Spring to arrive in Germany with temperatures of up to 21C

The moment many people around Germany have been waiting for is almost here: as of Thursday, temperatures are expected to crack the 20C mark and stay warm through the start of spring.

Spring to arrive in Germany with temperatures of up to 21C

Whether it’s the pink cherry blossom trees which have started to bloom, lighter evenings or people walking around with ice cream cones, the signs of springs have already started to show around Germany in March.

Now the weather is also catching up: following rain storms on Wednesday, the mercury is expected to reach at least 20C in many parts of the Bundesrepublik on Thursday. 

READ ALSO: Seven signs that Spring has arrived in Germany

First there’s some damper news: On Wednesday, Germany – in particular the southwest – is expected to be hit by the storms. In the Black Forest, 30 to 40 litres per square metre will fall by midday, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).

In the Alps, light snowfall will set in above 1,000 to 1,200 metres, with fresh snowfall of around five centimetres expected. 

The rain will ease by the following morning, but it will remain cloudy.

Up to 21C on Thursday

On Thursday, after the morning the fog disappears, people can look forward to a sunny and dry day – especially in the south and western parts of Germany. 

Temperatures will rise to a pleasant 14 to 21C degrees, with the highest values on the Upper Rhine. 

In mountainous areas and by the sea, it will remain somewhat cooler at 10C to 14C. 

Friday will be characterised by changeable weather: there will be sunny spells as well as rain showers, which will spread from the west and may be heavy in places – including thunderstorms. 

Temperatures will be between 14C and 18C degrees, and in the Lausitz region in eastern Germany it could even reach a warm 20 degrees.

Warmer weeks

While this Sunday could still see some single digit temperatures in northern parts of Germany – such as 9C in Berlin and Hamburg – the coming week is set to experience continually warmer weather, remaining at 14C and higher. 

The first day of spring officially begins this year with the Spring Equinox on March 19th. The days will become even lighter in Germany after Daylight Savings Time, which this year takes place in the early hours of Easter Sunday, or March 31st.

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Germany in March 2024

SHOW COMMENTS