Brussels (the Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Europeans believe they require more information to be ready for emergencies, a recent Eurobarometer survey reveals.
The European Commission published the outcomes of an opinion survey indicating that the majority of EU citizens believe need more information to prepare for catastrophes and emergencies. Furthermore, the responses show citizens feel mostly exposed to risks connected to the impact of climate change but also security and social troubles.
The recent Special Eurobarometer survey questioned people in the 27 Member States regarding their perceived exposure to disaster risks, their level of understanding and the sources they use to learn about disaster threats. The survey also asked people how well they are equipped for disasters and how much they trust emergency services and authorities.
Which countries feel most vulnerable to extreme weather events?
Residents in 17 Member States feel most susceptible to extreme weather events, such as storms, droughts, and heatwaves. Respondents sense most exposed to wildfires in Portugal and Cyprus and to floods in Bulgaria. The answers were notably different in Sweden, Denmark, and Czechia where cybersecurity threats outperform the list. In Germany, political or geopolitical tensions, in Estonia required infrastructure disruptions and in Finland, human health emergencies are on the lid of the list for perceived personal exposure.
Why do citizens feel underinformed about disaster preparedness?
At EU level, almost two-third of respondents stated that they need more information to prepare for disasters and emergencies. Moreover, more than one-third of citizens stated they have difficulties finding appropriate information from public authorities and emergency services.
The survey also reveals that almost four in ten people do not have the moment or financial resources to be ready for disasters or emergencies.
What role do families and friends play in disaster response?
Concerning the role of communities, the survey shows that people largely rely on family members and friends to manage a disaster, even more than on emergency services, NGOs, and local authorities or government mechanisms. Almost two-thirds of EU citizens say that they have never committed to voluntary work to support emergency responder organisations or community-based endeavours to increase disaster resilience, while only 7% of them are currently immersed in the same type of work.
How does the EU civil protection mechanism enhance preparedness?
The EU has several means at its disposal to deal with emergencies and disasters. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism supports cooperation between the 27 EU countries and 10 Participating States (Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Moldova, and Ukraine) on civil protection to enhance prevention, preparedness, and reaction to disasters.
In February 2023, the European Commission assumed a Recommendation and a Communication to specify common goals to boost disaster resilience in the dimensions of civil protection. This includes greatly increasing, by 2030, the level of disaster risk understanding and preparedness of the population of the Union in each of the Member States. The European disaster resilience plans aim to improve the capacity of the EU, its Member States and Participating States to the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to predict and better withstand the impacts of future major disasters and emergencies.
