Carinthia tests disaster response in Austria’s largest exercise

More than 3,000 emergency personnel are taking part in Austria’s largest disaster exercise, staged in Carinthia through Sunday, ORF reports. The “Combined Success” drill is testing how authorities, responders and infrastructure operators would work together after a series of severe earthquakes.

By Saturday morning, 2,667 people were involved, and the state crisis team expected the total to exceed 3,000 by midday. The exercise scenario assumes six major earthquakes and ten aftershocks, with simulated magnitudes between 6.1 and 6.4. By 8 a.m., 59 simulated damage locations had been recorded, mainly in the districts of Villach-Land, Villach-Stadt, Feldkirchen, Klagenfurt-Land and Völkermarkt.

The scenario also includes widespread disruption to utilities: 26,100 households without electricity, 17,000 without heating and 500 without gas. These are simulated outages, not real service interruptions. The crisis team said actual road closures were limited to locations announced in advance; other closures shown in the scenario were not put into effect.

As of the latest situation report, the exercise involved 348 vehicles, seven helicopters and seven boats. Crews had conducted 82 flights and transported 196 people; 31 people were evacuated by helicopter in the scenario. Four deaths and 84 injuries were also simulated. No one had been injured in reality by the time of the news conference at the state alarm and warning centre in Klagenfurt.

Governor Daniel Fellner said the exercise was intended to test coordination between organisations, rather than having each one practise separately, and to identify where procedures could be improved. “If a mistake happens during an exercise, nothing better could happen to us,” he said.

The drill also tested responses at hospitals, schools, energy facilities and public transport services. In one hospital scenario, 150 people in an elderly-care unit had to be moved because of a simulated heating failure. The state road administration practised restoring transport links, while Klagenfurt Airport and Austrian Federal Railways also took part.

For the first time in a major Carinthian exercise, responders also practised protecting works of art and cultural assets. At the Carinthian State Museum, they rehearsed evacuating school groups and securing valuable objects. Deputy Governor Gaby Schaunig said the exercise showed that prepared plans could work in practice. She added that her satellite phone, which she was supposed to carry in an emergency, had been left at the office.

Crisis communications were tested as well. The state said its social media posts reached more than 172,000 people, while its public service received 25 real calls, mainly asking which road closures were in force. The crisis team urged people to check official channels for information about closures and other simulated events.

Fellner thanked professional and volunteer responders, saying at least two-thirds of the expected participants were volunteers. He also asked drivers to make way for emergency vehicles using blue lights and sirens, even during an exercise.