The snow chaos in Münsterland in November 2005 caused a sudden power failure for 250,000 people. Due to the large snow loads and high wind speeds, several power poles had collapsed. For 20,000 people, electricity could only be restored again after five days and after the deployment of interregional helpers. At the time, the snow disaster clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of our modern society.

But how prepared are major German cities now for a blackout? To answer that question, emergenCITY researcher Dr. Alice Knauf in cooperation with KRITIS conducted a survey of the disaster control offices in 49 major German cities. Topics surveyed include: Dealing with possible blackout scenarios, extent of preparation, cooperation with different infrastructure sectors and actors, or educational work.

Read more about the results of the study in the report by emergenCITY scientist Dr. Alice Knauf in the current Magazin Bevölkerungsschutz from Bundesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz und Katastrophenhilfe (BBK): „Wie vorbereitet sind deutsch Großstädte auf einen Blackout“ – Magazin Bevölkerungsschutz (1/2021) from p. 42