Overview

Description

In Europe and around the world there are many vulnerable installations and critical infrastructures close to rivers, coastlines, located in earthquake prone areas or subject to other kinds of natural hazards. One decade after the Fukushima disaster, natural hazards triggering technological disasters, or so called Natech events, are still not represented widely enough in emergency preparedness and response activities. Natech disasters as multi-sectorial emergencies pose a variety of simultaneous effects and require a high level of collaboration and coordination of stakeholders from various sectors. The Danube region connects ten European countries and is one of the lifelines for the exchange of goods in Europe. It is living environment for around 80 million of European citizens and basis for industrial production in many countries. Besides the anthroposphere, the Danube region is a natural habitat for a great variety of species protected by various national parks and European environmental protection initiatives. The cyanide spill at Baia Mare (RO, 2000) or the red mud spill in Kolontar (HU, 2010) revealed the terrible consequences of Natech events on European inland waterbodies and the environment in general. To improve and strengthen cooperation among the EU Member States in order to facilitate coordinated response to Natech events, the planned exercise will focus on multiple industrial accidents along the Danube region triggered by an intensive flooding event. The exercise will especially deal with the impact of CBRN events, like toxic spills or the release of radioactive material, triggered by the flood event. UCPM Modules active in the field of CBRN hazards, as well as technical experts will get the opportunity to train in a multi-hazard environment together with local civil protection and emergency response experts in the scope of a full-scale exercise, which will be accompanied in advance by a table top exercise.

Project content

News

FORMATEX23: Responding to Natech Events in the EU and Beyond

FORMATEX23, the first ever EU-funded full-scale exercise in Austria on responding to major accidents triggered by natural hazards.

FORMATEX23 Final Planning Conference

The Consortium members and the Austrian authorities gathered in Linz to discuss the final details leading up to the Full Scale Exercise in September.

FORMATEX23 Environmental Analytics Seminar

On 10th-12 May, the FORMATEX23 consortium organized the Environmental Analytics Seminar in Lunz am See, Austria.

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