Austria-wide

Carinthia best prepared for storms and the like

Whether flood or storm: Carinthia is best prepared.(Bild: Bachhiesl/Tratnik/Fürpass)

Floods, mudslides, gale-force winds: The number of extreme weather events is increasing significantly. Also in Carinthia, where the population is best prepared for disasters in Austria. The Carinthian Civil Protection Association is also partly responsible for this.

Carinthians are the front runners
An Austria-wide survey was carried out to find out how aware Austrians are of disaster protection. And one thing is clear: Carinthians are the front runners. Especially when it comes to stockpiling food supplies and the importance of siren signals. 

Not a year goes by without Carinthia being hit by an extreme weather event. One of the reasons for this is climate change. "This brings extreme weather events more frequently and with greater intensity," says Carinthia's disaster prevention officer Daniel Fellner, whose resort invests millions in necessary protective structures every year. But that alone would not be enough in the long term: "At least as important as flood protection structures are the measures we can take ourselves to protect our lives, those of our loved ones and our own homes."

But we don't want to rest on our laurels. The increase in crises and disasters means that information work is still needed. Because "we cannot be prepared enough", says Fellner.

Volunteers inform the population
And the Carinthian Civil Protection Association is responsible for this, touring the state with a wide variety of events and keeping the population up to date. And this is also reflected in the survey. While the rest of Austria is neutral towards the Civil Protection Association, enthusiasm for the Carinthian Civil Protection Association is the highest. "We were only able to achieve such a result thanks to the large number of events and the excellent cooperation and support of all Carinthian municipalities and emergency organizations," says Rudolf Schober, President of the Carinthian Civil Protection Association, who, like Fellner, still sees a lot of work to be done in this area.