In a strong earthquake, homes, buildings and other infrastructure are damaged. People may be injured by collapsing houses or toppling parts. Residential houses may be temporally uninhabitable or possible aftershocks may prohibit a return. If roads and railway lines are destroyed, traffic connections will also be interrupted. Telephone lines can be interrupted by a strong quake and the mobile phone service may be overtaxed. In the worst case, vital goods such as water, electricity and food cannot be obtained for several days.
If the damaged area is extensive and badly accessible for rescue units and relief organisations, you may be on your own or need to depend on your neighbours for the first hours to days.
The combination of heat and humidity causes the human body stress and may lead to cardiovascular problems and heatstroke. Heatwaves can threaten the lives of small children, elderly and weak people. During heatwaves, the strain on your airways may increase due to the elevated ozone concentration. A further effect can be bad water quality in standing bodies of water.
Again and again, people are injured by flood waters. Streams and rivers may sweep away both people and vehicles and fatalities have to be expected. Floods cause damage to homes, buildings and infrastructure. Cellars and ground floors are often no longer inhabitable after such an incident. Gas, water supply and telephone lines may be limited and power cuts may be the result. Streets may become impassable and you must reckon with disruptions in road and rail traffic. If the danger is severe, you may be evacuated from the affected area and unable to return to your home for several days. If the damaged area is extensive and badly accessible for rescue units and relief organisations, you may be on your own or will need to depend on your neighbours for the first hours or even days.
Long-lasting cold spells damage infrastructure such as roads, railway lines and water mains. Due to bad road conditions mobility may be limited. Conduits may freeze and affect the water supply. The electric power supply may also be reduced. Because of the unusually low temperatures outside, you are more susceptible to illnesses such as colds and the flu.
Depending on the pathogen, a pandemic can present a great threat to your health. If you are infected yourself, you may need medical treatment. During a pandemic, public life is severely restricted for weeks. Services such as telephoning, garbage disposal, etc. may be limited as the staff is missing who normally cater for the services. Events involving large concentrations of people (cinema, sports events, exhibitions etc.) might be prohibited. The supply of goods may also diminish because world-wide production is declining.
Heavy snowfall may interrupt road, rail and air traffic. The weight of great masses of snow can push in roofs, break off tree branches or damage overhead powerlines, resulting in electricity and telecommunications being interrupted. Entire areas may be cut off and it can take hours to days before they can be accessed and supplied again safely. If buildings in mountain regions are threatened by avalanches you must, depending on the instructions of the local authorities, either stay within the building or you will be evacuated. Roads may be closed as a precaution.
An extensive or national blackout severely restricts our daily lives. At home or in the office all electronic devices, lights and heating fail. The water supply may break down. The toilet cannot be flushed anymore. Telephone and Internet connections are limited or interrupted. Public transport is severely limited and fails. Traffic lights cease to work and traffic jams result. Cash dispensers/ATMs can no longer be used and in shops goods cannot be paid for as cash registers fail to function. Petrol can only be obtained from filling stations that have a backup power supply. Depending on the reason and extent of the blackout, it may take hours to days until the power comes back on.
Flying or falling objects may cause lethal injuries. Strong winds cause damage to buildings and other infrastructure. Railway lines and roads are frequently blocked by objects. If power lines are destroyed, power outages may result. The mobile phone grids may be overburdened. It is possible that you will not be able leave the building you are in for several hours.
Within the affected area you will not be able leave the building you are in for the moment because poisonous smoke and fumes might affect your health. Under certain conditions drinking water may also be affected and must no longer be drunk. The affected area will be cordoned off. You might be unable to go outside for hours.
Escape of radioactivity is not an immediate threat to lives. If you are, however, exposed to a large dose of radioactivity, this can lead to serious illness and damage your health in the long term.
For the first hours after radioactivity has been released you will be asked to remain inside your house/residence. As a precaution, you may be evacuated from the area. If an evacuation in advance is not possible, you may be evacuated after the incident. For those affected, information points will be made available. Additionally, decontamination will be offered. It may take several days to weeks before you can return to the contaminated area. Under certain conditions, returning will not be possible for several years.
If the water alert or general alert is sounded, you have only minutes to leave the area. The flood will damage or destroy buildings and infrastructure below the dam. Like during any other flood, cellars and possibly even raised floors will be flooded. Entire neighbourhoods, roads and railway lines will be scattered with rubble, trees, debris and mud. Roads, communications and electric power supply will probably be disrupted in the affected areas. The affected area will be cordoned off. You might be unable to return to your home for days or even weeks. If the damaged area is extensive and badly accessible for rescue units and relief organisations, you may be on your own or will need to depend on your neighbours for the first hours or even days.
Forest fires can block traffic routes. Danger zones may be closed off. If a forest fire threatens individual houses or neighbourhoods, they may have to be evacuated. Fortunately this happens only very rarely, as Switzerland does not permit houses or neighbourhoods to be built in the woods. Attention must also be given to the indirect consequences of forest fires, such as the loss of protection or ash mudslides that may have an impact on the daily lives of the population. If there is an evacuation, it may take several days or even weeks before you can return to your home.
During the outage, no calls can be placed or received using mobile devices. Data transmission via mobile networks will also be disrupted, so that no internet-based services can be used (e.g., news portals, messaging, payments by mobile phone, ticket purchases for buses and railways, car rentals by smartphone, navigation systems in cars). Rail and air traffic is restricted, and hospitals must operate in crisis mode because procedures in all these areas rely to a large degree on mobile network communications. Telephony and internet access are possible via WLAN; however, public and commercial wireless networks, especially those in densely populated areas, will be heavily strained or overstrained. All emergency numbers will be operational, but collaboration among emergency services will be hampered.
