Inundation - The Order of St. John is expanding its disaster control operations in Saxony.
The Johanniter are developing their disaster protection infrastructure in Saxony. They announced in Leipzig on Wednesday that the disaster protection center in Heidenau, near Dresden, would be expanded at a cost of around two million euros. 640,000 of this amount will be covered by the state. Additional centers are being planned in the districts of Meissen and Erzgebirge, as well as in Leipzig itself, but the costs for these have not yet been determined.
The Heidenau I center can currently accommodate up to 200 people who can be self-sufficient for several days, the organization said. "This project is a significant investment in local disaster protection, but it is only the beginning," it added. The groundbreaking ceremony for the second center is scheduled for this Friday.
"For smaller scale disasters, all relief organizations are well-prepared with their professional and volunteer helpers," said a Johanniter Landesvorstand member, Carsten Herde. "In these situations, all forces unite. We saw this happen in the Ahr Valley, during the forest fires in Saxony, and also during the severe floods in Saxony in 2002 and 2013. But what if a large-scale crisis emerges, caused by natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or other threatening situations?" To be ready for such scenarios, more disaster protection centers are needed.
"Saxony is well-equipped with respect to population protection," the Johanniter quoted Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) in their invitation to the groundbreaking ceremony. "The federal states have invested billions of euros in recent years to improve their disaster protection capabilities." However, the federal government continues to struggle financially when it comes to civil defense investments. "In the coming years, a total of ten billion euros will be needed in the field of civil defense for the protection of the population," Schuster said. "Civil defense must be equipped in a way that clearly prioritizes the safety of the people."
