The sixth Modules Table-Top Exercise of the ModTTX Cycle 11 took place from 24 to 28 April 2023 in Germany. The scenario which was trained was flooding due to heavy rain and an earthquake in a fictional outside of the EU country called “New Republic Westland”. A total of 26 participants (18 Modules Key Personnel, 6 EUCPT and 2 TAST) took part in the exercise.
The sixth Modules Table-Top Exercise (ModTTX6) took place from 24 to 28 April 2023 in Ratingen, Germany. It was conducted at the THW Local Section of Ratingen and elaborated a scenario of flooding and an earthquake. In order to test the participants on procedures for missions outside of the EU, a fictional country was developed. The fictional country “New Republic Westland” or NRW is a replication of the German Federal State of North Rhein Westphalia, so that real coordinates and maps could still be used during the exercise.
The scenario was severe flooding caused by widespread heavy rain and storms, with the cities of Bonn, Cologne and Ratingen as the focus for needing international assistance. The situation was further complicated by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter north-west of Cologne. To add a degree of realism to the scenario, role-players (playing themselves) from the Fire Brigades of Bonn, Cologne and Ratingen as well as THW volunteer units from Ratingen were also involved. Also included in the role-play events was a VIP visit from the EU Delegation.
The Exercise was hosted by the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW-DE), in cooperation with the rest of the consortium, formed of the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (URSZR-SI), the French National Fire Officers Academy (ENSOSP-FR), the Federal Public Service Home Affairs – Directorate-General for Civil Protection (DGCP-BE), the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia (MUP), the Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA-DK) and the Escola Nacional de Bombeiros (ENB-PT). The THW Local Section of Ratingen, which is comprised of only volunteers, supported the THW Headquarters’ International Division in the execution of the exercise by offering its facilities, as well as supporting the exercise management with logistics and role play.
There were 26 participants from 10 different countries comprising of nine Modules Key Personnel teams, an EUCP Team and a TAST who took part in this exercise. Including Exercise Control (EXCON), certifiers, trainers, role players and support staff, about 60 persons were involved in the exercise.
The EUCP Team included three EU Experts, two ERCC Liaison Officers, a member of UNDAC and support from a two-person TAST from the Netherlands. The Modules present were HCP from Finland and Slovenia; WP from Belgium; HUSAR from Poland, Hungary, and Netherlands; AMPS from Spain; FRB from Croatia and a joint WP and EMT module from Hungary.
