10-point plan: The Greens call for improvement in disaster protection

From the experts’ point of view, disaster control is by no means a hobbyhorse of German politics. Last year’s flood of the century in the Ahr Valley in Rhineland-Palatinate, for example, made it clear what weaknesses exist in this country. The Green Party has now come up with a proposal to improve preparedness for emergencies. They are calling for warning signals in the form of sirens to function even when there is no electricity available.

Greens want improvement in warnings

When the Ahr Valley was hit by a flood of gigantic proportions on July 14, 2021, it made headlines around the world. Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk supplied the region with his satellite internet Starlink for a time. According to experts, in retrospect, the 135 deaths the flood claimed in the idyllic region in Rhineland-Palatinate could have been prevented. For example, timely warnings could have ensured that more people would have been able to flee. Here it became clear how poorly prepared the state in particular, and Germany in general, is for such emergencies. Since, in view of the ever-advancing climate change, such extreme weather situations could become the rule rather than the exception in the future, the Greens are now calling for improvement. As part of a ten-point plan, they have listed demands aimed at better warning the population in the future.

Population Protection Day should be a wake-up call

One point of the demands provides that one in the entire federal territory a so-called population protection day into being. This should not only serve to check existing sirens for their functionality. In addition, the population is to be familiarized with the warning signals. In particular, they should be made aware of the instructions that should be followed when the sirens sound. Unfortunately, however, there is a lack of self-evidence here. Germany still has an incomplete network of warning sirens. According to the Greens, this network must now be completed. Old sirens, on the other hand, must be modernized. By modernizing the old siren technology, the group of Green politicians means, for example, installing a rechargeable battery. This should ensure that a reliable warning is possible even in the event of a power failure. On top of that, it would also have to be possible to broadcast voice announcements via the sirens.

Warning signals are currently too dependent on electricity

Politicians also recalled the importance of cell broadcasting. This could also have saved lives during the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley. This involves emergency messages that can be sent to telephones independently of any existing network. This means that messages can be sent to the affected region even in the event of a power failure. In general, power dependency seems to be a major problem. In order to minimize this, all emergency response equipment must be designed to be as energy-efficient as possible, he said. Even in the event of a complete power failure, operation must be possible. Meanwhile, reconstruction in the flood-ravaged Ahr Valley continues. This does not only apply to the houses. The local telecommunications companies are also working at full speed. The new transmission towers are said to offer even more crisis security than their predecessors.