The structure of crisis management and disaster control in Austria

Disaster control in Austria is in principle a responsibility of the provinces and rests mainly upon volunteer relief and rescue organisations. The provinces have enacted comprehensive disaster relief acts which regulate the scope of action assigned to the individual relief and rescue organisations, identify the action management hierarchy and define performance requirement profiles. Municipalities, district and provincial authorities take part in disaster control and are responsible for the provision of adequate infrastructure and organisation. Since there is no full separation of competencies between the federal an the provincial level in the field of disaster control special responsibilities remain within the competence of the federal government. For the management of supraregional crises a federal crisis management was established in 1986. The most important tasks of this crisis management are to give advice to the federal government in a crisis situation, to co-ordinate all administrative measures for an emergency response an to give information to the public. (orig.)