ACTIVITIES OF THE CIVIL PROTECTION COMMANDER AND THE CIVIL PROTECTION HEADQUARTERS OF MEŽICA MUNICIPALITY DURING THE AUGUST 2023 FLOODS

Abstract

This article deals with the activities of the Commander of the Civil Protection and the Civil Protection Headquarters of Mežica Municipality during the August 2023 floods. On 4 August 2023, the Mežica River overflowed its banks and flooded a residential building at Mariborska cesta 3. Interventions by the protection, rescue and relief forces followed at various locations, and at 3.40am the Municipal Disaster Response Plan of Mežica Municipality V 2.0 was activated. The activities differed significantly from those in previous natural and other disasters in the munici­pality in terms of the scale, content, number of interventions and intensity of protection, and the rescue and relief forces‘ operations. Civil-military cooperation, international cooperation and cooperation with foreign NGOs and volunteers posed a major challenge due to the volume and number of activities, the complexity of coordination, di­rection, command and control, the coordination of communications and the logistics. Using quad bikes and enduro motorcycles, we have successfully introduced a new approach to field operations. We improved the efficiency of the response of the Civil Protection units and enabled faster delivery of food, potable water, material and technical resources and medicines to hard-to-reach areas. Using drones, we efficiently obtained relevant information on the extent and level of damage in the flooded areas, and around landslides, rockslides and mudslides. The response of the Civil Protection Commander and the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Mežica Municipality to the disaster was appropriate and efficient.