Major accidents and disaster response: The Swiss perspective
- Central Office for General Defense, Bern (Switzerland)
The coordination of the emergency preparedness towards disasters and major accidents takes place into the context of a global security policy. The purpose of this policy is to guarantee the survival of the population and to protect vital installations within a given area (state, region, canton, district, prefecture). According to the Swiss law--except in the case of a nuclear accident--the authorities of the cantons and communes are in charge of disaster relief in their jurisdiction. In addition, various instruments subordinated to Federal Departments (i.e., ministries) can be required either to function as experts or--on request and while respecting the principle of subsidiarity--to contribute to disaster response. Also in peace-time, parts of the army (rescue troops, engineers, medical units, ...) or parts of the means of the civil defense may be involved. In accordance with Switzerland`s federal state organization, each canton has worked out its own structure for disaster response (examples are provided in the paper). Although each of them has its own peculiarities and the available means can vary, several local events in the past few years have allowed them to give proof of their efficiency.
- OSTI ID:
- 376291
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9505224--; ISBN 1-56555-079-X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Swiss underground L/ILW repository at Wellenberg: How to proceed following the negative vote of the Canton
Swiss underground LLW/ILW repository Wellenberg: State of the technical work and the licensing procedure