Civil Protection in Austria

Disaster Relief and Disaster Management comprise all measures that serve to prevent disasters and to eliminate and mitigate their effects. Disasters are those incidents which to a large extent damage or threaten the lives or the health of many people, the environment or property, and which therefore require a coordinated response of the authorities to combat the imminent threat or damage.
Preventive measures fall within the responsibility of the Federal government and the Provinces. Actions to combat, eliminate and mitigate the effects of disasters which have occurred or are imminent (i.e. disaster relief) fall primarily within the responsibility of the Federal Provinces. The provincial acts define the command and control structures at the level of the Municipalities, Districts, and Federal Provinces. The Federal authorities have complementary tasks.

The preparedness measures are primarily the responsibility of the Federal Provinces. These include the establishment of emergency relief services and the provision of necessary capacities.

Disaster management in the nine Federal provinces of Austria:

• Disaster Management Burgenland  
• Disaster Management Kärnten  
• Disaster Management Niederösterreich  
• Disaster Management Oberösterreich  
• Disaster Management Salzburg  
• Disaster Management Steiermark  
• Disaster Management Tirol  
• Disaster Management Vorarlberg  
• Disaster Management Wien