The crisis management bodies and their activation

The evaluation cell

Water management authority - department of flood forecasting (SPC)

The SPC plays a two-fold role in crisis management:

1. Before the crisis cell is activated, the SPC assesses the possible crisis situations and informs the CGDIS and, if they are sufficiently serious, and no later than at the alert stage, informs the duty officer at the HCNP.
2. Once the crisis cell has been activated, the SPC assesses the situation and provides the chair of the crisis cell (CC) with regular updates.

The SPC is made up of representatives of the water management agency (Administration de la gestion de l'eau - AGE), the technical group responsible for managing the Wark reservoir at Welscheid (BRWW), the renewable energy company Société Luxembourgeoise des Energies Renouvelables (SOLER), the Our electricity company (Société Électrique de l’Our - SEO) and the navigation service (Service de la Navigation - SNG), depending on the situation; it may also be assisted by representatives of MeteoLux. It is chaired by the representative of the AGE.

The SPC manages the activation of the various management stages, according to both the evolution of water levels at the various measurement stations and the weather situation. To do this, the SPC uses a flood forecasting model based on data from the hydrometeorological measurement network and on weather forecasts. There is constant collaboration and communication with the flood forecasting services in the countries bordering the Grand Duchy.

The crisis cell

During the pre-alert and alert phases, the High Commissioner for National Protection or his/her substitute informs the Prime Minister of the situation on the basis of exchanges with the SPC and the CGDIS.

The decision to activate the crisis cell falls within the remit of the Prime Minister or his delegate.

The crisis cell is composed of representatives from the State administrations concerned, depending on the nature and scale of the crisis.

Under the authority of the Government, the crisis cell initiates, coordinates and monitors the execution of all the measures intended to deal with the crisis and its effects and to promote the return to a normal situation.

The joint operational command post

A joint operational command post (Poste de commandement opérationnel commun - PCO-C), comprising the CGDIS, the army, the Grand ducal Police and a representative of the National Roads Authority (Administration des Ponts et Chaussées) is set up at the CGDIS' operations management centre (Centre de gestion des opérations - CGO). Depending on the agencies active in the field, the PCO-C may be extended to include representatives of other bodies. The PCO-C is chaired by the duty director of the CGDIS.

The PCO-C organises and coordinates the intervention as a whole. It is tasked with the operational coordination and monitoring of the tactical commanders deployed in the field who are responsible for implementing the supervision, protection and rescue measures with a view to achieving the strategic aims determined by the crisis cell.

The PCO-C's representatives transmit the necessary instructions to their department, agency or service, and ensure that they are carried out.

The advanced command post

The advanced command post (poste de commandement avancé - PCA) ensures the liaison between the site of the incident and the PCO-C. The PCA is headed by the emergency operations commander (Commandant des opérations de secours - COS), who is designated by the Director General of the CGDIS.

The PCA's mission is to direct all the missions and operations on the ground, to centralise and make use of information, and request and distribute the necessary backup. The PCA reports on the performance of its mission to the PCO-C.

The PCA includes one representative of each service engaged in operations in the field. Depending on the response plans, representatives of the services/companies concerned by the incident, and the local mayor, may also be included in the PCA.

The communication and information cell

Theoretically, the communication and information cell (Cellule communication et information - CCI) is activated at the same time as the crisis cell; it is responsible for communication and information to the media and the population.

The CCI  is under the responsibility of the Director of the Crisis Communication Service (Service de la communication de crise - SCC), the Prime Minister, or his representative. This person ensures that the composition of the CCI is matched to the requirements of the incident; if necessary, he may call on personnel from the agency or service concerned.

The general public is kept informed of the evolution of the flooding situation via the website at www.inondations.lu. Flood bulletins are posted in the 'Alerts' section. Current water levels of the rivers and catchment areas for the Alzette, Chiers, Moselle, Sûre and Syre can be consulted at any time, as can a 24-hour forecast for water levels at certain measurement stations.