Many cities and districts have not yet adequately prepared for a prolonged power failure, a so-called blackout: This was the result of a survey published on Wednesday by the ARD political magazine “Report Mainz”. According to this, only about every second municipality has an action plan for power failures.
More than 400 counties and cities were surveyed for the survey. 200 municipalities responded to the request from the ARD magazine. The question of whether there is an action plan in the administration that everyone involved could access immediately in the event of a power failure was answered in the affirmative by only 101 municipalities.
Without electricity, the supply of drinking water can also collapse. According to the survey, 78 municipalities lacked emergency wells with which the population could be supplied with drinking water even in the event of a prolonged power blackout.
In addition, many municipalities lack so-called disaster beacons. These are contact points for citizens. According to the survey, 67 municipalities replied that they had not set up such contact points.
The managing director of the Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, criticized the lack of structures in the preparatory work: “Actually, the states should agree on a master plan for civil disaster control,” said Landsberg in the ARD magazine. This must be implemented together with the municipalities. Federal help is also needed.
Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU), who is also the chairman of the conference of interior ministers, called for the risk of major power outages to be taken very seriously. However, many mayors are opposed to advice from Berlin or Munich, said Herrmann.
