EUR 9 million for Rescue Mate disaster management system

20 December 2023

Climate change prompts launch of Ministry of Interior's project

The Ministry of the Interior and Sport, the University of Hamburg and the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) have launched the interdisciplinary "Rescue Mate" project to fight the growing risk of storm surges in the Port of Hamburg and places near the Elbe River. The new disaster management system networks rescue teams more efficiently and with other stakeholders to respond faster in an emergency. The German Ministry of Education and Research is putting some EUR 9 million towards the four-year project as part of civil security research.

Improving disaster management and information flows

The City of Hamburg is focusing on storm surges that reach maximum water levels of eight metres. More frequent and stronger storm surges are expected in Hamburg due to rising sea levels, more extreme winds, continuous rain and heavy rain events. As part of "Rescue Mate", the infrastructure will be upgraded to coordinate evacuations and closures by the fire brigade and police. Contact with authorities and aid organizations will become easier, hazard reports can be sent faster and people helped faster as well.

Preparing to cope with extreme weather

The project also focuses on providing information for people and they can get a realistic impression of a flood situation with virtual reality. The "Rescue Mate" project is one of many urban measures focing on climate changes. The Ministry for the Environment encourages people to collect rainwater in cisterns and is expanding its "blue-green" infrastructure of climate oases and trees with filters for rainwater. These measures should make the city more resilient to heat and heavy rainfall. The ministry has also compiled data from the German Weather Service, the University of Hamburg, Hamburger Hochbahn, Hamburg Wasser and the German Insurance Association and has set up a new online monitoring system.

fw/sb/pb