Public Safety
Public safety is an important aspect of the work of the regional administration. Die Tyrolean Regional Government is involved in civil defence and disaster relief, crisis management at the local and district levels, geo-information services, product safety, hydrography, tunnel safety and tiris map services. The Department of Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (in German) is responsible for disaster prevention and response measures on the basis of the Tyrolean Disaster Management Law (2006).
Disaster Management
Disasters are defined as events triggered by the elements, technical processes or human activity and constituting a major risk to human life or health, the environment, property or essential services. In collaboration with the regional authority's various offices and departments, external organisations and the emergency services, the Tyrolean Regional Hazard Warning Centre has drawn up alarm and hazard warning plans and keeps them constantly updated. As constituents of these regional plans, the Tyrol's various local and district disaster protection plans are managed in digital form at the Regional Hazard Warning Centre.
Civil Protection Services
The Tyrolean Regional Hazard Warning Centre (in German), Landeswarnzentrale - LWZ, serves primarily as a coordination office for disaster management. The Tyrolean Operations Information System (ESIS Tirol) is an internal communications and documentation platform for calls on the emergency services. The LWZ also provides regularly updated information on the avalanche hazard, waterways, air quality, traffic and the weather.
The Tyrolean Avalanche Warning Service, Lawinenwarndienst - LWD, receives data from a dense network of automatic weather stations and employs them to produce daily snow and avalanche hazard reports, including clear cartographic materials, that are made available via an online platform and newsletter service. Before every weekend, the LWD provides a weekly review with photographs and information on recent weather patterns, changes in the snow cover, avalanche activity and an analysis of any avalanche accidents.
The Tyrolean Fire Service Association (in German) acts as an umbrella organisation and operations control centre for the Tyrol's 362 fire brigades. With a membership of about 30,000, they handle some 10,000 calls a year (and the number is increasing). Averaged out over the year, that means a Tyrolean fire brigade is called out once an hour to attend a fire, road accident, tunnel accident, incident with hazardous materials, or an animal to be rescued or wasps' nest to be removed.
Click here for further information on the subject of public safety, support programmes and the relevant departments at the Office of the Tyrolean Regional Government (in German).