Ministry of the Interior
Southwest hosts international disaster drill
Baden-Württemberg’s Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) during an exercise in Külsheim Photo
© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
How do rescuers work together across borders in an emergency – for example when an earthquake shakes Baden-Württemberg? In order to be prepared for everything, the state is planning a large-scale exercise – a nationwide premiere.
Greece, Austria and Switzerland are also involved. “The war in Ukraine, the corona pandemic and climate change show that crises know no borders. We have experienced this up close in the crash course over the past three years,” said the Stuttgart Deputy Prime Minister.
The exercise is scheduled to take place in October 2024, lasts 36 hours and is called “Magnitude”. The disaster scenario is an earthquake – with far-reaching consequences. Dealing with chemical accidents, ensuring the drinking water supply and locating and rescuing buried or injured people are to be trained.
Play through all eventualities
According to the Ministry of the Interior, such operations could last hours or even days. Destroyed infrastructure, power outages, problems with drinking water – these are all conceivable consequences of an earthquake. And: There are many companies in Baden-Württemberg that also work with dangerous chemicals. In the event of a severe earthquake, the escape of dangerous goods must also be expected. All such eventualities should be played out in the large-scale exercise. “Practice makes perfect, that applies of course and especially to complex situations,” said Strobl.
Since 2010 there have already been 35 such exercises supported by the EU, and the European Commission regularly supports them. In addition to earthquake scenarios, deployments in the event of flood disasters, nuclear incidents or forest fires were trained there, for example. Although Germany was involved in some of the exercises, it has never hosted them.
Only last year, Baden-Württemberg took part in an EU project in Greece to fight forest fires. The next step is now being taken with a large-scale international exercise in Germany, said Interior Minister Strobl. “The current crises must be an opportunity for all of us to give the European project new impetus – think together, act together.” This also applies in particular to security policy.