Trial Austria, the last of the four crisis management trials conducted as part of DRIVER+, took place in the region of Eisenerz, Styria, from 12 to 14 September. In this final trial, Austrian communications solutions for crisis and disaster management were deployed in a fictitious earthquake disaster scenario. This major exercise was organised and conducted by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology in close coordination with the Austrian Red Cross.
The Trial investigated the best possible support for stakeholders in crisis and disaster management (CDM). The test scenario postulates a heavy earthquake in central Austria registering 6.8 on the Richter scale, with subsequent heavy rains and increasing numbers of missing persons and casualties, collapsed buildings, blocked roads and endangered industries. Following a call for applications, various solutions were selected for the exercise. Over 3 days their feasibility were tested in the scenario in Eisenerz. The exercise involved all national emergency response organisations (Red Cross, Fire Brigade, Police and Army) as well as international rescue teams.
The Trial received a lot of media coverage. Many media outlets (both broadcast and online/print) have run with the story in their publications and on TV (Servus TV). To consult the newsclippings click here. For the Servus TV video click here.