Earthquakes, floods, fires and droughts: while natural disasters are becoming more frequent in Europe and worldwide, local and regional elected representatives highlight the crucial need to “move from crisis management to a real risk culture” embraced by all stakeholders. In a recommendation and a resolution debated and adopted on 28 March, the Congress put forward many proposals to that end.
As co-rapporteurs on “Local and regional responses to natural disasters and climate hazards: from risk preparedness to resilience,” Jean-Paul Bastin (Belgium, L, EPP/CCE) and Christian Debève (France, R, ILDG) based their work on the visits they paid to Türkiye and Spain in 2023, and a study of the flooding in Belgium in 2021. They particularly stress the importance of continuous and transparent communication with the affected communities, both to improve co-ordination of relief efforts and to prevent panic. Residents need to be better prepared at local level for natural disasters, which are becoming increasingly likely because of global warming. With input from the youth delegates, the report focuses on the inclusion and involvement of all residents to boost the resilience of society as a whole.
Drawing on the lessons learnt from the severe flooding that devastated the Land of Lower Saxony in Germany between December and January, its Minister for the Interior, Daniela Behrens, described the regional civil defence measures, whose local roots in the worst-affected areas had facilitated the relief efforts. “Of course, we received assistance from the neighbouring Länder and several other European countries, but it is first and foremost our high level of preparedness that enabled us to respond rapidly, including through the effective co-operation between the professional emergency services and volunteer firefighters and other relief personnel, many of whom left their usual jobs to come to the aid of the residents,” she said. Lower Saxony was now considering introducing compulsory insurance for homeowners to cover the costs of such floods, the objective being anticipation and resilience. There were also plans to further strengthen the disaster management skills centre which had already been set up in the Interior Ministry before the latest crisis.
Improving rescue workers’ training and anticipating risks
Opening the debate, Bryony Rudkin (United Kingdom, L, SOC/G/PD) stressed the importance of properly documenting disaster responses and measures so as to facilitate the gathering of experience and, in this context, improve training for all involved. Her compatriot, Joanne Louise Laban (United Kingdom, L, ECR), also called for better training for civil defence personnel.
Davit Khazhakyan (Armenia, L, ILDG) pointed out that a very large proportion of the buildings in the former Soviet republics were of a poor standard and not very resistant to hazards, in particular seismic hazards. Nicknamed “Khruschev buildings,” these properties from the 1950s and 1960s all needed to be completely refurbished, which was very expensive but vital. Cemal Bas (Türkiye, L, EPP/CCE) was also very critical of the standard of many buildings destroyed during the 2023 earthquakes, saying that his country had clearly neglected safety before the disaster, while paying tribute to the international support and solidarity that it had received to tackle it.
Local authorities must be involved in drawing up disaster relief plans
Two Italian members, Franco Iacop (L, SOC/G/PD) and Belinda Gottardi (L, SOC/G/PD), both said that local authorities should be more closely involved in determining preventive investments and in drawing up disaster relief plans. Ms Gottardi said that she did not know “how many more disasters it will take until national governments finally recognise the importance of our role on the ground,” and called on the Congress to continue promoting its proposal to draft an additional protocol to the Charter concerning the environment.
The youth delegates made their voices heard, emphasising the need to train young people in disaster prevention and involve them in organising and conducting relief efforts. The Irish youth delegate, Jack O’Connor, pointed out that governments should not just consult their usual experts when it came to anticipating crises and providing responses, but should also turn to groups that that were directly threatened or affected and give them a voice in a democratic and participatory manner, taking care to include both the youngest and the most elderly.
Lastly, in response to a question from Clemens Lammerskitten (Germany, L, EPP/CCE), Ms Behrens praised not only the interregional co-operation during the floods but also the smooth functioning of the European civil defence warning system. “Within 36 hours, France sent us the temporary dykes we needed,” she said. She would like to go further by arranging joint exercises between countries, for instance between France and Germany or between Germany and Poland.
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