Emergency planning in alpine regions: A cross-country comparative analysis of challenges, strengths and weaknesses between emergency planning and emergency management.
This analysis is based on empirical data from seven Alpine countries: Switzerland, Germany, France, Slovenia, Lichtenstein, Italy and Austria. Predefined natural hazards were considered, namely avalanches, forest fire, floods and mudflows. The target group of the study was natural hazard managers as well as emergency planners. In a quantitative analysis, the five categories — data availability, risk communication, structural quality, material resources and human resources — were examined in more detail, with the ultimate aim of identifying approaches for improving cooperation at the planning and management interface. Qualitative workshops on mudflows (Italy, Switzerland), avalanches (Austria, Italy) and floods (Switzerland, Slovenia, Germany) completed the study commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism. Contributors are representatives of the Alpine Convention, Working Group on Natural Hazards — PLANALP from the countries Austria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, France and Lichtenstein, geosphere Austria (project management, formerly known as ZAMG), BFW and Montanuniversität Leoben.
Publication: Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik. 2021. Contingency Planning in Alpine Regions. A comparative analysis of challenges, strengths and weaknesses between contingency planning and natural hazard management. In: Österreichische Beiträge zu Meteorologie und Geophysik, 45, Wien.
Contact: Dr. Renate Renner