Disaster Management

A disaster, as defined by law, is an event that endangers or impairs life, health, or the essential supplies of the population, animals, significant property, or the natural foundations of life to such an unusual degree that the elimination of the threat requires the unified coordination of all disaster response measures as well as the deployment of disaster response units and facilities.

Operations in the event of a disaster are generally based on the deployment of forces used for day-to-day hazard response, fully incorporate these forces, and differ from such operations due to changes in the command and communication structure resulting from unified command by the politicallyauthority with overall political responsibility, the significantly increased number of emergency personnel, and, in most cases, the longer duration of the operation as well as the involvement of the general administration. This fact must be taken into account in all civil protection planning to ensure a unified command structure and the effective use of all personnel and material resources.

The onset and end of a disaster (the “disaster situation”) must be determined in accordance with Section 34 of the Hessian Law on Fire Protection, General Assistance, and Civil Protection (HBKG), and must be announced via radio, television, daily newspapers, or other means, specifying the extent of the affected area.

The decision as to whether a disaster situation exists must be specifically assessed in each individual case according to the criteria of § 24 HBKG. It follows from this that the so-called disaster threshold can vary greatly, especially since it is always subject to subjective assessment,

• whether there is an imminent danger (e.g., a potential release of hazardous substances requiring an evacuation) or
• damage that has already occurred is of such an unusual magnitude that centralized management of the response (by a disaster management command center—KatSL—with a disaster management staff — KatS staff — see No. 2.1.3.1) is necessary at all for tactical reasons, or whether (as is the case, for example, with most flood situations along the rivers in Hesse) the organizational arrangements for day-to-day hazard response are sufficient.

There is no such thing as a “disaster” in and of itself that can be calculated based on fixed damage scenarios. What is decisive is the extent of a hazard or damage that satisfies the criteria of § 24 HBKG in a specific case, in order to determine whether a disaster has occurred according to this definition.