Austrian Service for Torrent and Avalanche Control

030406081012141618202223

Table of contents

Past Experiences – Future Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 03

Alpine Natural Hazards in Austria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 04

Legal Basis and Organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 06

Facts and Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 08

Hazard Zoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 10

Preventive Control Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12

Technology and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14

Network Natural Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16

Natural Hazard Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 18

Sustainable Protection and Ecology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 20

Extension and Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 22

Imprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 23

Experiences that can be gained from coping with natural disasters constitute an important basis for a better prepara-tion of the society for future events. The conclusions, which were drawn by analysing the flood and avalanche disasters of the past, enable us to learn for future disasters and to be better prepared for the consequences of natural hazards.The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management has developed it’s strategic goals for the field of “natural hazard management” from the results of these analyses (e.g. Flood Risk 2004) and bases future protection measures on the following premises:

Demonstrating the limits of protection and the responsibility of those involved, cooperation

Only the will to cooperate renders a damage control in the interest of the community possible. The protection against natural hazards is a matter which concerns all of us.

Promoting hazards knowledge and hazards awarenessHazards awareness means knowing the danger and neither forgetting nor suppressing it, but taking it appropriately into consideration in all actions.

Ensuring a site-adapted land-use planning The type of land-use has to be adapted to the characteristics of the site. The basis for the hazards assessment in land-use planning is the hazard zone map. Running waters need more space for the natural development.

Incentive systems for prevention at one’s own initiativeIn principle everybody is responsible for his (her) security. And thus it can be reasonably expected by every individual to make an individual contribution to the prevention of natural hazards.

Harmonisation of all planning activities in the public sector Many target conflicts can be avoided by a harmonisation of all relevant planning activities. One should therefore aim at an institutionalized harmo-nization between municipal agencies and authorities.

Control measures, where necessary, permanent maintenanceProtective structures will only fulfil their function of safeguarding existing settlements, if they are maintained, and permanently checked for their effi-ciency and retrofitted.

Emergency planning and disaster control measuresHowever, even comprehensive control measures can never guarantee absolute security. It will always be necessary to complement their effect by emergency planning and disaster control measures.

Financial provisions, insurances and claim settlement The recovery after disasters is to be ensured by means of financial provisi-ons (reserves, insurances) as well as by public and private aid.

In Austria the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management has a leading competence in the field of “natural hazard pro-tection“ and provides the strategy. This brochure shows (published in English and German), the practical application of these strategic goals by the Austrian Service for Torrent and Avalanche Control of natural hazard management - now and in future.

Natural hazard protection: Past Experiences -

Future Objectives

Josef PröllFederal Minister for Agriculture, Forestry,

Environment and Water Management

of the kinetic energy or blast

wave or due to their deposi-

ts, great damage or destruction

in the endangered areas and

constitute also an acute thre-

at to the lives of persons also

within buildings . Depending on

the type of movement one can

differentiate between flowing

avalanches and powder avalan-

ches .

Slope movements can occur

in the form of “slow” creeping

or gliding movements or in the

form of “fast” slides and slope-

type debris flows . The most

frequent forms with an imme-

diate damaging effect occur-

ring are deep-seated rotational

slides or shallow translational

slides . Areas in Austria parti-

cularly threatened by slides

are situated in the flysch zone

(Bregenz wood, Vienna woods)

in the neogenic hilly country

of the foothills of the Alps, in

the inner-Alpine slate moun-

tains or in the area of glacial

loose masses (moraines) . Slope

movements are frequently rela-

ted to springs and near-surface

groundwater .

Stone fall means the fall of

individual rock debris which is

loosened from rocky escarp-

ments and cliffs by weathering

or mechanical influences (frost,

tree roots) . Stone fall results

frequently in severe damage

of buildings and endangers on

long sections the transport rou-

tes in the Alps . The fall of gre-

ater rock masses is called rock

fall or rockslide .

The protection against Alpine

natural hazards constitutes a

national task of providing basic

services for the public . The

Austrian Service for Torrent and

Avalanche Control (die.wild-

bach), an agency of the Federal

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry,

Environment and Water Mana-

gement takes over the tasks

of analyzing and assessing haz-

ards as well as of planning and

implementing preventive cont-

rol measures and ensures thus

a sustainable effect .

In the Alpine country Austria

Alpine natural hazards consti-

tute a security risk in many regi-

ons . Floods, mudflows, avalan-

ches, slope movements and

rockfall are threatening peo-

ple, their living environments,

their settlements and economic

areas, transport routes, supply

lines, and infrastructure . They

constitute thus an important

threat to the bases of existence

of the population . The incre-

asing settlement pressure, the

opening up of transport routes

in the Alps as well as strong

growth rates in tourism have

brought about a considerable

spatial extension of endangered

areas . With the rising demands

on welfare and quality of life the

need for safety and protection

of the population increased as

well .

Among the most important

hazards in torrential catch-

ments are floods, mudflows,

as well as mass transports of

stone, gravel, mud (“debris”)

and wood (“woody debris”) .

Floods develop from extreme

precipitation, which results

in torrential catchments in a

rapid rise in the run-off and

thus in inundations in the val-

leys . According to the geology

in the catchment areas a flood

event can erode by the force

of the discharging water great

masses of solid material (ero-

sion), transport it as bedload

through the torrent and deposit

it on the debris cone . In steep

torrents extreme bedload trans-

port events can result in the

formation of mudflows .

Avalanches are masses of

snow, which cause, when falling

down rapidly on steep slopes or

into ditches as a consequence

4

Alpine Natural Hazards in Austria

5

DI Maria Patek

Air-born powder avalanches go down to the valley after heavy new snowfall and cause severe damage by pressure (Picture: Sonntagsköpfellawine, Fügen/Tyrol)

Many slopes in the Alps are in motion and cause damage by slides and subsidence (picture: Large-scale slope movement Rindberg, Siebratsgfäll/Vorarlberg)

Head of the Austrian Service for Torrent and Avalanche Control

State (Disaster Relief Fund Act) .

Subsidies are granted sub-

ject to the provisions of the

Hydraulic Engineering Assis-

tance Act (“Wasserbautenförde-

rungsgesetz”), which defines

the terms and conditions under

which subsidisation is provided

as well as the principles of the

planning and implementation of

control measures .

However, comprehensive pro-

tection against alpine natural

hazards includes also organi-

sational measures (emergency

alert, alarm, evacuation) and

civil disaster control, tasks

which are mostly implemen-

ted by the Federal Provinces .

Modern natural hazard manage-

ment can best be explained by

means of the principle of the

risk cycle, which begins with

the event (disaster) and com-

prises disaster intervention,

repair, reconstruction, preven-

tion, and measures of disas-

ter preparedness . The objec-

tive is to improve and enhance

society’s preparedness for futu-

re natural disasters .

Provision of these security

services requires the coope-

ration of experts of numerous

technical disciplines and many

public and private organisa-

tions . A task of natural hazard

management is also to harmo-

nise all relevant technical plans

to serve the goal of protecting

against natural hazards .

To coordinate this task the poli-

tical business unit “Protection

against Natural Hazards” has

been established at the Ministry

of Life, which is to attend to

the task beyond the specific

competences of the individual

ministries, regional units and

technical fields .

The protection against torrents

and avalanches is laid down

in the Austrian Constitution as

a competence of the Federal

Government (Art . 10) both

with respect to legislation

and execution . On the basis

of the Forest Act of 1975 the

Federal Government attends to

this task via a decentralised

agency immediately subordi-

nated to the Ministry of Life,

the Austrian Service for Torrent

and Avalanche Control .

In the Forest Act all tasks of its

offices are laid down, among

them the drawing up of hazard

zone maps, the planning and

implementation of technical

and forest-biological control

measures, the consulting ser-

vices and expert activities, the

care for the torrent and avalan-

che catchment areas, the admi-

nistration of the subsidies allo-

cated, and the representation of

the public interest concerning

the protection against alpine

natural hazards . The Forest Act

includes also provisions on the

headquarters and organisation

of the offices . Presently there

are 7 provincial headquarters

(Vienna, Lower Austria and

Burgenland in the same one)

and 27 regional offices . Further,

3 technical staff units (geology,

snow and avalanches, geologi-

cal information) fulfil important

planning tasks .

Also the legal foundations of the

hazard zone map, which is one

of the forest landuse plans, are

laid down in the Forest Act and

its Regulation . As far as its legal

effect is concerned the hazard

zone map is only an expert

opinion, but it is binding due to

its being laid down in the local

land-use planning . The provin-

cial laws regulating landuse and

building contain building res-

trictions for areas exposed to

natural hazards . The identifica-

tion of the hazard zones in the

zoning and development plans

makes it possible for the aut-

horities to assess the risk for

each individual parcel and, if

necessary, to determine provi-

sions for making a site apt for

development .

Torrent, avalanche and ero-

sion control measures are

financed from the Disaster

Relief Fund of the Federal

6

Legal basis and organisation

7

The risk cycle: The goal of all measures is the reduction of risks and an increase of the security against natural hazards

Organization chart from the Austrian Services for Trorrent and Avalance Control

(quantifiable protective

effect) of more than € 200

million can be achieved .

S A major part of the funds

invested in active control

measures flows to direct

value-added for the regional

economy (wages, construc-

tion services, planning servi-

ces) . Also tourism, being an

important economic factor,

profits to a considerable

extent from the state-sup-

ported preventive measures

of torrent, avalanche and

erosion control .

S Moreover, the protection

against Alpine natural

hazards ensures also in

many Alpine valleys the

basis of existence for the

rural area (e .g . Montafon,

side-valleys of the Lech

Valley, Möll Valley) and secu-

res the further existence of

old farm-based settlements .

S The Austrian Service

for Torrent and Avalanche

Control was founded as

early as in 1884 and has now

devoted itself to the service

of protetion against natural

hazards over 120 years .

S In Austria hazard zone maps

have been worked out on the

basis of the Forest Act for

almost 30 years . It is plan-

ned to make them available

for the whole federal territory

by 2010 .

S The Austrian Service

for Torrent and Avalanche

Control fulfils with its offices

(7 sections, 27 district

offices, 3 technical staff

units) the tasks defined by

the Forest Act 1975 .

S280 staff members in tech-

nology and administration as

well as about 960 workers

employed on the basis of a

collective contract rendered

the following services in

2006: 11,105 expert opi-

nions, 423 hazard zone

maps, 349 projects, 772

completed and 518 current

construction plots as well as

1,765 care measures in tor

rential catchments .

The dangers emanating from

torrents, avalanches and erosi-

on have mostly regional effects,

however, in the mountainous

country Austria the protection

against natural hazards as a

whole constitutes a task of

national importance . Facts and

figures are documenting in an

impressive way the outstanding

importance of the achievements

of the Austrian Service for

Torrent and Avalanche Control

in providing natural hazard pre-

vention services .

S With 75 % of the federal ter-

ritory being an Alpine area

Austria has the highest share

of Alpine area of all Central

European States . 58 % of

the federal territory (83,855

km2) are intensive zones of

protection against Alpine

natural hazards, another

17 % are extensively

threatened by torrents,

avalanches and erosion .

S In Austria 12,294 torrents,

5,980 avalanches and 861

risk areas (slides, rock-fall)

are recorded (as of 2006) .

Thus 67 % of the federal

territory are subject to the

care of the Austrian Service

for Torrent and Avalanche

Control; in the Federal

Provinces of Vorarlberg,

Tyrol, Carinthia, and Salzburg

this area covers even more

than 80 % of the provincial

territory .

S In Austria about 35,000

buildings and 1,500 km

transport routes are threa-

tened by torrents .

Avalanches are threatening

in particular the living

environment in the inner

Alpine valleys, where large-

scale avalanches frequently

reach the valley bottom .

S Every year the Federal

Government makes available

funds (subsidies) from the

disaster relief fund to the

amount of € 69 million for

the torrents, avalanche, and

erosion control . Together

with contributions from the

Federal Provinces and stake

holders (municipalities, water

corporations, others) funds

to the amount of almost

€ 120 million are thus avai-

lable annually for invest-

ments into active control

measures .

S Of the funds available about

74 % are spent on torrent

control, 9 % on avalanche

control, and 7 % on land-

use management measures

(protection forests, catch-

ment area management, 5 %

on planning, the rest (5 %)

on rock-fall and slide

control measures .

S With expenses of only

0 .1 % of the federal bud-

get annual protection gains

8

Facts and Figures

9

The avalanche control service reinforces with snow bridges the protective effect of forests against avalanches. Neuberglawinen; St. Leonhard/Pitztal/Tyrol)

Mudflows and slides can destroy residential buildings and constitute thus also a danger for humans within buildings

a broad consensus at techni-

cal level and a high planning

quality, and aims on the other

hand at achieving a high level

of public acceptance of this

important instrument of land-

use planning, as well as of the

building and security sectors .

A hazard zone map is the sum

of all possible hazards emana-

ting from torrents and avalan-

ches and is an area-based

expert opinion with out direct

legal binding effect . It is the

basis for the projecting and the

implementation of measures of

the Austrian Service for Torrent

and Avalanche Control as well

as of the ranking of these

measures according to priority .

Hazard zoning includes the

experience and the knowledge

of experts of the Austrian

Service for Torrent and

Avalanche Control as well as

the results of digital process

modelling (computer simula-

tion) or the reports made by

eye witnesses of large-scale

disasters . If the conditions in

a catchment area change or

if there are new findings as a

result of disasters, the delimi-

tation of hazard zones is sub-

jected to an adaptation .

The implementation of hazard

zone maps in the field of land-

use planning and in the local

construction sector leads fre-

quently to conflicts with other,

particular utilisation interests .

The position of a plot of land

within the red hazard zone is

frequently felt by the owner to

be a decrease in value . How-

ever, the disasters in the course

of the last few years have

shown explicitly the important

role hazard zone maps play in

counteracting a further incre-

ase in damage potential (goods

to be protected) in endangered

areas .

According to the provisions

of the Forest Act 1975 the

catchment areas of torrents

and avalanches as well as the

zones endangered by them,

reservation and reference areas

are to be presented in hazard

zone maps .

The task of hazard zone map-

ping is carried out by the

Austrian Service for Torrent

and Avalanche Control . The

identification of hazard zones

is based on state-of-the-art

methods and up-to-date know-

ledge, the personal experience,

the documentation of histori-

cal disaster events (torrent and

avalanche control) and the pre-

sentation of possible damage

events (scenarios), which are

described with a probability of

occurrence (recurrence proba-

bility) of 1 in 150 years . They

are presented in the form of an

area presentation on a 1:2,000

scale, mostly for the territory

of a municipality on the basis

of the digital parcel cadastre .

Every hazard zone map is sub-

ject to a comprehensive control

and approval procedure . The

draft of a hazard zone map

is forwarded to the major of

the municipality and shall be

available for public inspection

for four weeks . Everybody who

can demonstrate a justified

interest is entitled to inspect

the draft and to express his/her

opinion on the draft in writing .

After the expiry of this deadline

a commission – comprised of

a representative of the Ministry

of Life, the Federal Province,

the competent section of the

Austrian Service for Torrent

and Avalanche Control and the

municipality – has to examine

the map – and, if necessary, to

modify it, taking into conside-

ration the opinions delivered in

writing . The recognition (appro-

val) of the hazard zone map is

granted by the Federal Minister

for Agriculture, Forestry, Environ-

ment and Water Management .

This comprehensive procedu-

re ensures on the one hand

10

Hazard Zoning

The hazard zones:

In red hazard zones the threat is so high that a permanent settlement is not possible or only possible with a disproportionately high expen-diture. The construction of new buildings is not recommended.

In yellow hazard zones the permanent use for settlement and transport purposes is impaired. Building in these areas is only possible on condi-tion that all requirements are complied with.

Blue reservation areas are areas, which are to be kept free for future technical (e.g. construction of a sedimentation basin) or biological control measures (e.g. afforestations)

The brown reference areas indicate other hazards than those evoked by torrents and avalanches (e.g. stone fall and slide areas).

Those areas (e.g. natural diversion dams, flood-retarding areas in the form of terrain synclines, etc.) are identified as violet reference areas, who-se present state has to be preserved in order to ensure the protective function also in the future.

11

Hazard zones comprise the total sum of all possible events of a torrent or an avalan-che (Hazard zone map, Saalfelden/Salzburg)

open land natural inundation

and sedimentation areas form

part of control concepts .

Forests are considered the most

efficient protection against

avalanches; where their pro-

tective effect is not sufficient,

snowpack-stabilising structures

are built using steel, wood or

snow nets . In addition, control

measures to protect against gli-

ding snow (wooden supports,

arrays of posts) reduce snow

movement and permit affore-

station at the timber line . For

the management of protection

forests in avalanche catchment

areas some specific forest tech-

niques, like the transverse fel-

ling of trees, were developed . In

the runout zone of avalanches

deflecting dams and catchment

basins force flowing avalanches

to deposit outside the threa-

tened residential area . To pro-

tect highways and ski areas

also temporarily effective tech-

niques for the artificial (targe-

ted) triggering of avalanches

are applied . Among them are

avalanche-blasting ropeways,

gas exploders or “avalanche

organs” .

The protection against rock-

fall is predominantly provided

by means of steel nets which

catch stones in the process of

falling . Catching dams are built

to ensure the safe deposit of

rockfalls .

Slides occur frequently in con-

nection with the escaping of

water from a slope; therefore

the drainage of the sliding block

is one of the most efficient

techniques of slide stabilisati-

on . Furthermore, technical pro-

tection structures like anchors,

arrays of posts or barriers are

used to give slopes the neces-

sary stability .

Generally there are technical

and economic limits to each

and every control measure . In

some cases it is better to leave

the endangered area (desettle-

ment) and shift the residential

area to less threatened areas . In

any case future need for control

measures can be avoided by

precautionary spatial planning .

In the Alps the techniques of

“torrent control” have been

known from time out of mind .

The first torrent defense works

were constructed already

around the year 1500 . Originally,

control plans took advantage of

the possibilities of using “living”

construction material (bioengi-

neering), aimed at preventing

the erosion of loose rock, or

promoted the protective effect

of forests . Particularly impres-

sive examples of these forest

engineering measures are the

successful re-afforestation of

torrent catchment areas or the

stabilisation of large erosion

areas (scars) by planting in the

early 20th century .

The technology of permanent

snowpack stabilising works

was developed along with the

improvement of the Arlberg-

bahn train; first systematic

defense structures to protect

residential areas have been built

in Austria approximately since

the year 1950 . Hazard zoning

as an instrument of showing

the areas exposed to torrents

and avalanches is an achie-

vement of the 60ies and was

legally regulated in the Forest

Act of 1975 . Comprehensive

plans concerning the manage-

ment of sediment transport in

torrential catchment areas and

corresponding types of dams

were developed in the seven-

ties and eighties . Over the past

few years holistic planning

approaches and the manage-

ment of catchment areas within

the meaning of the objectives

of the European Union’s Water

Framework Directive have

become important tasks .

Today the modern system of

torrent, avalanche and erosi-

on control measures comprises

active and passive measures

with permanent or temporary

effects .

In torrential catchment areas

dams are built to stabilise the

beds of torrents against depth

erosion and to retain sediments

and woody debris; furthermore,

dams to “dose” flood dischar-

ge and sediment transport as

well as to “break” the force of

landslides are used . In densely

settled areas it may sometimes

be necessary to develop the dis-

charge section (regulation) or

stabilise banks, whereas in the

12

Preventive Control Measures

13

Debris dams in a model

Protection forests and technical control measures provide optimal security against the dangers of avalanches

SDevelopment of computer-

based process modelling

(avalanches, mudflows,

floods, rock fall, slides)

S Further development of

hazard zoning methods

S Establishment and operation

of measuring equipment and

monitoring systems in tor-

rential catchments or for

mass movements for obser-

vation and early warning

purposes

S Development and application

of new remote sensing tech-

nologies (laser scanning,

helicopter geophysics)

SFurther development of pro-

tection systems with special

consideration of ecological

compatibility and sustainable

effect

S Development of new plan-

ning approaches aiming at

an optimal employment of

resources and the develop-

ment of holistic protection

concepts (ETALP, regional

studies, general projects)

S Development and imple-

mentation of new public

relations and citizens’

participation methods

In order to bundle the develop-

ment work the most important

special fields are summarized to

priority areas of torrent, avalan-

che and erosion control (techni-

cal priorities), which fall within

the scope of responsibility of

the individual sections . In this

way it is guaranteed that the

resources are optimally used

and that the acquired know-

ledge is made generally availa-

ble . Moreover, the technological

development is also promoted

within the framework of interna-

tional, EU-funded, projects . The

Verein der Diplomingeniereure

der Wildbach- und Lawinenver-

bauung (Association of Profes-

sional Engineers in Torrent and

Avalanche Control) contributes

with its technical journal for

torrent, avalanche and erosi-

on control considerably to the

transfer of knowledge .

Progress is the driving force of

society . This principle, which

applies to every other “enter-

prise” applies also to the

Austrian Service for Torrent and

Avalanche Control .

Research and development

constitute the basis of an effi-

cient protection against natural

hazards . As a consequence of

the need to keep always up with

state-of-the-art-technology and

up-to-date knowledge com-

bined with a high level of moti-

vation for their field of respon-

sibility on the part of the staff

members there is a very fruitful

environment for innovation and

technology . The special strong

point of the Austrian Service for

Torrent and Avalanche Control

is the combination of deve-

lopments and testing them in

practice . It was according to

this principle that such suc-

cessful concepts as hazard

zoning, permanent snow pack

stabilizing works, sediment

management in torrential catch-

ments (torrent check dams) or

avalanche simulation have been

developed .

However, modern technologi-

cal development has become

so expensive and time-con-

suming that it cannot be per-

formed by one organisation

alone any longer . In coopera-

tion with numerous public and

private institutions the level of

know-how is being advanced

in practically all fields of pro-

tection against natural hazards .

Among the most import part-

ners of the Austrian Service for

Torrent and Avalanche Control

there are the University of Rene-

wable Resources and Applied

Life Sciences, the Vienna Uni-

versity of Technology, the Fed-

eral Office and Research Centre

for Forests, the Geological Fed-

eral Institution, the Austrian Fed-

eral Environment Agency, the

University of Innsbruck, AlpS

and Joanneum Research . The

Forest Engineering Service

contributes the comprehensive

knowledge of its staff members

and offers the opportunity to

develop prototypes up to appli-

cation maturity .

Currently the technological

development in torrent, avalan-

che, and erosion control focus-

es on the following fields:

14

Technology and Development

15

Early warning and alert systems offer temporary protection in case of emer-gency

The modelling of avalanches with computer-aided simulation programmes corresponds to the state-of-the art in assessing avalan-che risks

ecologists, and civil engi-

neers assist in the protective

measures . Moreover, many fun-

damental scientists, EDP and

surveying experts as well as

universities, research institutes

and private engineering offices

devote their work to the task

of enhancing people’s security

with respect to natural hazards .

The large volume of novel and

traditional knowledge about tor-

rents, avalanches and erosion

requires well-organised docu-

mentation and transfer today .

Knowledge is transferred and

exchanged in different ways

between experts and laymen,

science and practical life, in

Austria and abroad . Of parti-

cular importance are technical

publications, such as the only

expert journal for torrent and

avalanche control published in

German language, which is issu-

ed by the association of profes-

sional engineers of the Torrent

and Avalanche Control (Verein

der Diplomingenieure Wildbach-

und Lawinenverbauung) . Expert

knowledge is exchanged also

on the occasion of meetings

and excursions and is spread

by internationally acting orga-

nisations . The Austrian Service

for Torrent and Avalanche

Control maintains internati-

onal contacts with experts

from countries which are like

Austria exposed to alpine natu-

ral hazards, too, among them

Switzerland, Germany, Italy,

Slovenia, France, and Norway,

but also Japan, Taiwan and

Venezuela .

Being an agency of the Ministry

of Life the Austrian Service for

Torrent and Avalanche Control

is involved in a large num-

ber of national and internati-

onal organisations and asso-

ciations . Among them are

INTERPRAEVENT, IUFRO, the

Alpine Convention’s Platform

for Natural Hazards, FAN (the

forest working group for natu-

ral hazards) or the International

SABO Society .

The protection against alpine

natural hazards has become a

comprehensive task which can-

not be managed by the state

with its agencies and authori-

ties alone . Also stakeholders

– communities, carriers and

utilities, the economy and, in

particular, the individual citizen

– must participate intensively

in the precautionary measures

and make an appropriate con-

tribution thereto .

The management of disaster

events (like the flood of the year

2002) requires the coordinated

action of all players . Right after

the event local or regional crisis

management committees guide

the intervention of the disas-

ter relief team and the executi-

on of the necessary immediate

measures such as the closing

of roads, the evacuation of

areas subject to acute risk or

the leading back of rivers and

torrents which overflowed their

banks to their beds . The crisis

management committees bring

together the experts and deci-

sion-makers needed from the

different fields of competence .

However, in order to reach the

protection targets all plans and

measures must also in the sub-

sequent phases of reconstruc-

tion and development of pre-

cautionary measures (preven-

tive protection) be coordinated

between territorial authorities,

public and private bodies .

Experts from the Austrian

Service for Torrent and

Avalanche Control are therefore

involved in many planning tasks

and in official procedures, repre-

sent the public interest of pro-

tection against alpine natural

hazards, and offer advice .

Knowledge and technological

development in the field of the

protection against natural haz-

ards constitute a task which

involves a large number of

technical disciplines . Research

and development as well as the

planning and implementation of

concrete measures are today

carried out by expert teams .

Apart from the professional

engineers of torrent and avalan-

che control (“Diplomingenieure

der Wildbach- und Lawinenver-

bauung”), who enjoy a training

at the University of Natural

Resources and Applied Life

Sciences which is singular

world-wide, also geologists,

forest experts, hydrologists,

16

Network Natural Hazards

17

Employee meeting: company planning and business strategy

Maria Patek presented the company visions to members of the European Parliament

tive instrument at hand with

which to communicate the risks

of natural hazards . The key

function this instrument should

fulfil is the public provision of

information on the effects which

natural hazards may have on

specific areas . Following the

principle of publicity set forth

in the Forest Act also written

comments by all persons con-

cerned in the process of hazard

zone planning were made pos-

sible early (1975) . The required

integration with other plans

and land-use interests comes

by presenting the hazard zones

within the framework of the local

spatial planning (land-use plan,

local development concepts)

and the geographic information

systems (GIS) of the Federal

Provinces .

We are breaking new ground,

however, with communication

directed first and foremost

towards conflict management .

Problematic issues, like the

bridging of differences of opi-

nions of experts and laymen

over the assessment of natural

hazards or clashing public and

private interests, will increa-

singly also arise in the fields of

torrent, avalanche and erosion

control .

The Austrian Service for Torrent

and Avalanche Control will

therefore be faced with a new

task in the future, the promo-

tion of a process of intensive

communication with people .

Eventually, citizens who may be

affected by natural hazards are

to be encouraged to make a

reasonable contribution to risk

preparedness in order to ensu-

re the best possible use of the

scarce public resources in the

long run .

18

Communicating the risk asso-

ciated with the natural hazards

of alpine areas is an essential

contribution towards improved

hazard awareness of the popu-

lation . The goal pursued is first

to create social acceptance of

the impending hazards and the

necessary preventive measures

and, in a second step, to make

citizens participants in the pro-

cess of preparing for cases of

natural hazards .

Key tasks with respect to the

communication on natural

hazards are to provide informa-

tion and to impart knowledge

on the subject . In the age of

electronic media the continuous

provision of information mate-

rial (brochures, films), targeted

public relations work (television,

newspapers), but increasingly

also “events” (presentations at

fairs, exhibitions) are playing a

vital role . For instance, bring-

ing “Torrents into cities” has

been a successful project and

children are playfully learning

about natural hazards by means

of “Berti” Beaver, the rock goat

“Stani” and the Cornish chough

“Kilian” . Young people are in

that way becoming multipliers

of the knowledge imparted to

them .

However, communication about

the protection against natural

hazards goes far beyond the

simple provision of information .

Modern hazard control plans

require space (land) on the one

hand and infringe upon indivi-

dual rights on the other hand;

for this reason they conflict

with competing land-use inte-

rests (agriculture, protection of

nature, residential settlement,

infrastructure, tourism) . As a

result, there are necessarily two

essential level of communica-

tion for the planning of active

and passive measures of pro-

tection:

1 . Communication with the

persons affected by the

plans (beneficiaries,

adjoining owners, holders of

rights, citizens’ initiatives) .

2 . Communication in the frame

work of various technical

plans of relevance to specific

areas .

Managing such communication

processes requires tools which

ensure the participation of all

those affected by the planning .

With its hazard zone map the

Austrian Service for Torrent and

Avalanche Control has an effec-

Natural Hazard Communication

19

Citizens' information is indispensable for awareness raising for natural hazards and the increase of risk acceptance

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Schutz vor Naturgefahren

LAWINENBerti und seine Freunde

Biber Berti Wildbach- und Lawinenverbauung – Lebensministerium

Hanne erzählt Bertivon den Schneearten

Wie entstehen Schneeflocken ?

Wie entstehtaus Schneeflockeneine Lawine?

Eine Schneeflockeerzählt über ihreReise

01_Cover.indd 1 20.03.2006 8:53:04 Uhr

Biber Berti and his friends teach children the right way of dealing with natural hazards

seeable future . Also today we

are in some cases confronted

with conflicting objectives rela-

ting to the “necessary” cont-

rol measures on the one hand

and the maintaining of a good

status of running waters and

the enhancing of the ecological

potential of natural geographi-

cal regions on the other hand .

Nevertheless important condi-

tions for a better harmonisation

of the protection against natural

hazards and the requirements

of nature and environment pro-

tection have been created over

the past few years . These activi-

ties include the determination of

ecological planning objectives

in the Technical Guidelines for

Torrent and Avalanche Control,

the establishment of river-basin

planning instruments (regional

study) or the improvement of

the protective effect of forests

within the framework of waters-

hed projects . Altogether, suc-

cessful torrent control concepts

are available today which per-

mit a balanced debris regime

and a morphological develop-

ment which is close to nature .

As a key objective, more space

is to be allowed for waters in

the future .

Sustainable protection against

natural hazards requires the ori-

entation of plans and measures

towards the criteria of social,

economic and ecological

soundness . Ensuring the basis

of life for humans is as impor-

tant as the sound environment .

(Brundtland Commission, 1987) .

These principles are in line with

the United Nations’ Agenda 21

and form the basis of the Euro-

pean Union’s Water Framework

Directive (WFD, 60/2000/EC) .

Key objectives of the WFD are,

among other things, to mana-

ge waters taking into account

the entire river catchment area,

to protect the environments of

waters and to improve the sta-

tus of the aquatic ecosystem .

Torrents are subcatchments in

the headwaters of rivers and

have a considerable influence

on the ecological status, the

water budget and the debris

regime of the respective river

system . Flood discharges for-

ming beds, landslides, but also

minor and frequent events in

torrents have a vital impact on

the morphology of brooks and

the sediment regime . The effect

of control measures is there-

fore decisive for the ecological

and morphological functioning

of the brook and, consequently,

the river basin .

As each area utilisation con-

tributes to the characteristic

landscape features, also the

flood control measures of the

past century have changed our

landscape . In mountain areas

running waters were used to

generate energy and numerous

sediment control dams pro-

tect valleys against floods and

landslides . In the middle and

lower reaches settlements were

built always closer to the rivers,

the consequence being straigh-

tenings and regulation . Eventual-

ly, in urban settlement areas

waters have been completely

re-shaped by man to gain more

land for transportation and sett-

lements .

As concerns the developments

of the past, the massive inter-

ventions into nature and lands-

cape, what has been done can

hardly be undone in the fore-

20

Sustainable Protection and Ecology

21

Torrents constitute an important biotope in the Alpine habitat and show a high morphological dynamism

Sustainable avalanche control means to safeguard the living environment also for future generations

Information and extension on “object - protecting forests” is provided by the offices of the Austrian Service for Torrent an Avalanche Control (provin-cial headquarters and regional offices) as well as by technically authorized civil engineers. Basic information can also be obtained from the compe-tent building authority or from the hazard zone map.

Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management

Department - Austrian Service for Torrent and Avalanche ControlTel.: +43 (0) 1/71100/7335; e-mail: die.wildbach@lebensministerium.at

www.die.wildbach.lebensministerium.at

Austrian Service for Torrent and Avalanche Control

Provincial Headquarters: Wien, Niederösterreich u. Burgenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01 / 533 91 47 - 0

Oberösterreich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0732 / 77 13 48 - 0

Salzburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0662 / 87 81 53 - 0

Steiermark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0316 / 42 58 17 - 0

Kärnten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04242 / 30 25 - 0

Tirol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0512 / 58 42 00- 0

Vorarlberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05574 / 749 95 - 0

Regional Offices: Südwestliches NÖ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02752 / 526 14 - 0Wien und Nördliches NÖ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01 / 533 06 94 - 0Burgenland und Südliches NÖ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02622 / 224 58 - 0Attergau und Innviertel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07662 / 42 96 - 0Salzkammergut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06132 / 232 32 - 0Steyr-Ennsgebiet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07582 / 620 37 - 0Mühlviertel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0732 / 77 01 57 - 0Flach- und Tennengau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0662 / 87 81 52 - 0Pongau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0662 / 87 81 54 - 0Lungau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06474 / 22 56 - 0Pinzgau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06542 / 725 50 - 0Ennstal und Salzatal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03612 / 263 60 - 0Oberes Murtal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03582 / 23 54 - 0Mittleres Murtal und Mürztal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03862 / 519 57 - 0Ost- und Weststeiermark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0316 / 42 58 28 - 0Mittel- und Unterkärnten. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04242 / 30 25 - 0Gailtal und Mittleres Drautal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04242 / 30 25 - 0Liesertal und Ossiacher Seebecken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04242 / 30 25 - 0Drautal und Mölltal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04242 / 30 25 - 0Außerfern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05672 / 657 75 - 0Oberes Inntal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05412 / 665 31 - 0Mittleres Inntal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0512 / 596 12 - 0Westliches Unterinntal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05242 / 662 02 - 0Östliches Unterinntal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05332 / 723 93 - 0Osttirol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04852 / 634 56 - 0Bregenz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05574 / 749 95 - 0Bludenz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05552 / 620 06 - 0

Technical staff units: Geological information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01 / 711 00 - 2350Geology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0512 / 58 42 00 - 0Snow and Avalanches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05242 / 662 02 - 0

Extension and Information

Published by:Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry,

Environment and Water ManagementMarxergasse 2, 1030 Vienna

Vienna 2007

Overall coordination:Mr. Florian Rudolf-Miklau

Contributors:Mrs. Michaela Leitgeb

Mr. Rudolf SchmidtMr. Christian WeberMr. Felix DaschekMr. Franz Roßnagl

Graphics:Ersan Palaz

ProductionDigital Print Products, 2540 Bad Vöslau

Printgugler GmbH, 3390 Melk/Donau

PicturesLebensministerium

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