BS-R-1: Information on how to act in a disaster situation | Umweltbundesamt

BS-R-1: Information on how to act in a disaster situation

In 2021, 66 % of respondents to the environmental awareness survey stated that they had informed themselves on the appropriate behaviour in a disaster situation, while another 19 % stated that they intended to do so in future. 15 % of respondents do not see any point in informing themselves. This is so far the lowest figure recorded in these surveys. The survey outcomes indicate that there is an increasing awareness and sensibility among the population.

Openness to information and knowledge is increasing

The population’s ability to protect themselves is an important component of civic protection. The term self-protection encompasses the total of individual measures taken by the population, the authorities and / or businesses in terms of the prevention, precautionary measures and self-help required for coping with events. By behaving appropriately in emergencies, citizens can protect their own safety and that of their fellow human beings at the same time as helping to improve overall safety.

In case of an accident or emergency situation, emergency relief responders need time to reach their target location and provide the necessary assistance. In case of an accident, this might typically just take minutes whereas in weather-related or weather-pattern related extreme events it can take considerably longer for rescue teams to arrive in sufficient numbers enabling them to assist everyone concerned. This was lately demonstrated by the severe flood disaster in the Ahr valley in July 2021 when roads and bridges were carried away by masses of water thus barring volunteers from direct access to flood victims. It can also happen that the geographical extent of the emergency location is particularly widespread making it difficult to reach all individuals in need of assistance as fast as necessary. In order to protect life and limb and also to protect material assets, it is therefore of particular importance for citizens to be able to help themselves in the first instance until the fire brigade, rescue services or disaster relief services arrive to provide assistance in a more organised way in events such as severe tempests, extraordinarily heavy falls of snow, flash floods or large-scale flooding.

To this end, it is vital that appropriate assistance can be provided by individuals who are well acquainted with the potential impacts of damaging events before these actually occur. It therefore matters that as many people as possible are familiarised with the potential risks and that they are well informed on how to behave in emergency situations. In recent years, technical progress in the processing and dissemination of geographic information has produced numerous new sources available to citizens to inform themselves on hazards that might exist either locally or regionally. For example, the internet provides information on flooding hazards, some of which is specifically focused on individual land parcels; it also provides information on Geo Risks such as mass movements, landslides or risks of storm damage. The GDV offers its ‘Naturgefahren-Check’ (natural hazards check) on the internet which provides online estimates for individual addresses on natural hazards such as flooding, storm and hailstorm, lightning and overvoltage.

On the basis of their awareness of hazards which might exist regarding the area where they live or work, citizens can obtain information on how to behave in emergency situations. On one hand, it is important for instance to develop and maintain general skills for instance in First Aid courses. On the other, specific information material is made available by authorities. At Federal government level, the BBK provides information on how to behave in a disaster, for example by means of leaflets and through its website. The website includes offerings such as a new interactive programme entitled ‘360° Notfalltraining’ (emergency relief training’ which is intended to facilitate – especially for younger target groups – access to subjects like precautionary measures, self-protection and how to behave in emergencies.²³¹ The information campaign launched in 2021 entitled ‘Für alle Fälle’ (translated as ‘Ready in case’) includes the use of tv spots to address a variety of target groups in the population. Besides, citizens can subscribe to the Federal government’s warning app NINA to receive warnings in respect of civic protection or storm warnings issued by the DWD which also provides flood information via its transnational Flutwasserportal (Flood Portal) for both individually selectable locations and for their own specific location (cf. Indicator HUE-2). In addition, there are information services provided by individual Länder and in some cases by competent municipal authorities.

As part of a national representative survey entitled ‘Environmental Awareness in Germany’ which is conducted regularly on behalf of the UBA and the Federal Environment Ministry²³², respondents have been asked since 2012 whether they inform themselves on how to behave in a disaster scenario. For the first time in 2021 the data were collected within the framework of a special survey on environmental awareness which will in future be conducted only every four years. While in 2012 the figure was still 38 % of all respondents who obtained relevant information, this value had already risen to 52 % in 2014, and amounted to 44 % in 2016. In 2021 the proportion rose to 66 %. Also the proportion of respondents who intend to obtain information in future has increased from 10 % in 2012 to 19 % in 2021.

Although these figures do not reveal the degree of intensity in which the respondents looked into the range of hazards and possible behavioural responses (cf. Indicator BS-R-2), they do indicate that by now 85 % of respondents recognise the need for and the usefulness of such information. The increase over the past ten years indicates that the population’s awareness is growing and the same seems true in respect of their willingness to be better informed in order to take appropriate precautions thus being ready for action in case of a disaster. It is safe to assume that the extreme events of recent years and the greater presence of climate change topics in the media have made a relevant contribution to this state of raised awareness. No doubt, the impacts of the 2021 floods in the Ahr valley have induced people to inform themselves well on the impacts of climate change and the best way to behave in the case of an extreme event. The flood disaster occurred only a few months before the last survey was conducted in 2021.

It should be borne in mind when interpreting these figures that not all citizens are exposed equally to all weather-related natural hazards. For example, storm surges or flooding occur along coastlines or along water courses whereas other areas are not or distinctly less frequently and less severely affected by such events. On the other hand, it is a fact that the population has become extremely mobile. Besides, it has been proved that hazards such as heat or heavy rain can happen anywhere in Germany and that these events can occur in disastrous proportions. Given this background, it is desirable that the entire population be in full possession of the knowledge what the basic rules are on how to behave in emergency situations.

^{231 - BBK 2023: Das 360° Notfalltraining. https://www.bbk.bund.de/DE/Warnung-Vorsorge/Vorsorge/Notfalltraining/notfalltraining_node.html}

^{232 - infas – Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft GmbH 2022: Tabellenband – Zusatzbefragung im Rahmen der Umweltbewusstseinsstudie 2020. Themenbereich: Klimaanpassung. Bonn, 39 pp. https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/2378/dokumente/tabellenband_ubs_zusatzbefragung_sept_2021_klimaanpassung.pdf}