On 9 July, 2024, a flood rescue exercise was successfully conducted on the Danube in Budapest city centre, between Margaret Bridge and Chain Bridge. The exercise provided an opportunity to showcase the coordination and effectiveness of rescue teams in a live-field scenario.
This event was part of the EU Presidency Workshop and took place during the workshop's dinner on an event boat. Around 100 participants attended, including residents and tourists, who were able to witness the rescue operations. The exercise featured 9 rescue boats, 1 helicopter, and a floating platform, involving a total of 60 personnel, including water rescuers, rescue divers, boat drivers, rope technicians, and boat crews.
The primary aim of the exercise was to demonstrate the cooperation between rescue teams, joint communication, and the management of rescue efforts in a realistic, live scenario
Key Phases of the Exercise:
The first scenario involved rescuing a person stranded on a simulated building roof. A helicopter lowered a rescuer, who secured the individual, and both were lifted to safety.
Next, two individuals were drifting in the water. Rescuers deployed from a helicopter stabilised them and transferred them into nearby rescue boats.
In another scenario, an injured raft driver fell into the river. One rescuer jumped into the water to assist, while another boarded the raft. With a rescue jet ski’s help, they completed the rescue and brought the raft ashore.
The fourth scenario featured a paddleboarder who had fallen and drifted away from their board. A rescue jet ski operator retrieved both the person and the paddleboard.
Finally, two canoeists had capsized and separated from their kayaks. Rescue boats saved the individuals first, then returned to recover the kayaks.
The "Flood Rescue" training session involved several organisations including HUNOR and HUSZÁR in addition to volunteer rescue teams using boats obtained through the "KEHOP-1.6.0-15-2016-00021 - Establishment of EU Civil Protection Complex Modules". The exercise also featured the fireboat St. Florian alongside helicopters, from the Riot Police department.
This exercise showed the importance of having a well-coordinated and rapid response unit capable of addressing large-scale emergencies like floods. Besides professional disaster management forces, the involvement of volunteer rescue organisations has greatly improved the ability of local communities to respond to floods accoding to the organisers. The rescue module is designed to work with rescue teams within the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) to ensure a united and efficient emergency response across the region.