Medizinische Herausforderungen in der Starkregenkatastrophe im Ahrtal 2021

Starting from the tributaries, a huge tidal wave poured out along the Ahr river. The flooded area extended over an area of approx. 40 km² to the left and right of the Ahr. The extent of this natural disaster presented numerous challenges for the emergency services involved.

Insights from the first days of dealing with the disaster were recorded in a structured manner through interviews with members from various command levels within the medical incident command. The results were discussed and agreed upon in the group of authors and rationales were derived which should help to anticipate or avoid the identified problems in future disasters.

Based on the interview results, the following crucial points for a successful disaster relief operation were identified: 1) Medical care in major disaster situations requires clear distribution of tasks and responsibilities regarding basic and emergency care. 2) Secure communication between incident command and emergency services is crucial for command and control. 3) The incident command sections must be occupied jointly by medical personnel and firefighters.

In the initial phase (chaos), the primary tasks correspond to those of smaller situations (e.g., reconnaissance, rescuing people). As soon as the critical infrastructure is largely damaged, challenges arise that require special qualifications from the command staff deployed. Central responsible command and control units, regular joint exercises by organizational–tactical staff and administrative staff as well as the specialist health advisory service can make a significant contribution to better dealing with major disasters.