In the view of Polish Members of the European Parliament, modern warning systems are essential to preventing the consequences of natural disasters. “RCB Alert is a very useful tool and it works effectively when warnings are sent to a limited area and a relatively small group of recipients. However, there are better tools available, and their implementation requires changes to telecommunications law as well as new obligations for operators,” Maciej Wąsik, Member of the European Parliament from Law and Justice and the ECR group, told Newseria. He also argues that long-term infrastructure investments are needed.
“In Poland, we introduced a relatively simple and very popular instrument. RCB Alert sends warnings to all mobile phones in a given area that an extreme event or natural disaster may occur,” the MEP said.
RCB Alert, Poland’s SMS-based emergency warning system, has been in operation since 12 December 2018. Warnings are issued on the basis of information about potential threats received from ministries and emergency services, such as the Police, Fire Service, Border Guard, offices, and central institutions including the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Regional governor offices also contribute information.
“It is an extremely helpful tool, but it is not perfect. There are around 45 million registered mobile phones in Poland. To send information to all of them, operators need an entire day,” Maciej Wąsik noted.
RCB Alert messages are sent to mobile phone subscribers in threatened areas throughout the year. They may arrive at any time of day or night, regardless of the day of the week. Everything depends on the current situation and the potential threat to life and health.
“There are already IT tools that make it possible to inform every smartphone user in real time. This requires a change in the law and the imposition of a new obligation on operators so that they are forced to implement such tools. For crisis management and warning against danger, such solutions exist and should be introduced into the Polish telecommunications system so that the relevant services can warn people early enough,” the MEP believes.
Some EU member states, such as Italy and Germany, base their public warning systems on Cell Broadcast technology. Messages are delivered instantly to mobile phones in a specific location, even when the network is overloaded. This removes the need to collect phone numbers or install apps.
“The European Union could also consider, just as it ensured harmonised and efficient roaming among mobile operators, implementing this type of solution across the whole Community. It would not be a bad idea, although it would be costly for operators. Still, they also have to fulfil a certain public function. Governments must be able to use their capabilities to notify phone owners, for example, about imminent danger,” Maciej Wąsik stressed.
In Poland, the National Crisis Management Plan is in force. It is a planning document prepared by the Government Centre for Security in cooperation with ministries, central offices, and regional authorities in accordance with the Crisis Management Act. It includes, among other things, the tasks and responsibilities of crisis management participants in the form of a safety framework for two phases: prevention and preparedness.
“The issue of crisis management also involves huge long-term investments, for example in flood protection infrastructure such as embankments and retention reservoirs, which is obvious. These things cannot be done overnight, but it is also a matter of preparing people who will react very quickly to specific threats,” the PiS MEP said.
In February this year, Jakub Jaworowski, a member of the management board of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, announced during the EEC Trends congress in Warsaw that BGK would invest around PLN 1 trillion in critical infrastructure over the next 10 years.
“We have a unique crisis management system in Poland thanks, among other things, to the network of volunteer fire brigades. In the fire services, we have around 200,000 people trained for rescue operations. That is more than the entire Polish Armed Forces. In addition, we have the national rescue and firefighting system, which includes around 6,000 fire units. This means we can react quickly, but these people must have the tools they need to provide assistance,” Maciej Wąsik emphasized.
The main objective of the National Rescue and Firefighting System is to protect life, health, property, and the environment through, among other things, firefighting and responding to other natural disasters, technical, chemical, ecological, and medical rescue operations, as well as cooperation with units of the State Medical Rescue system and the emergency notification system.
The network of units within the National Rescue and Firefighting System includes, among others, 500 State Fire Service rescue and firefighting units operating within 335 district and municipal fire service headquarters, five rescue and firefighting units operating within State Fire Service schools, and 5,237 Volunteer Fire Brigade units.
“It is difficult for me to say what coordination looks like between member states. Each has its own warning and crisis management system. The Polish one is not badly designed, provided that people do not fail. We have had many examples where, instead of being at their posts, they sent messages too late. They underestimated threats and reassured people,” the PiS MEP said. “We remember the 2024 flood, when government communications were reassuring, saying it would not be that bad. Meanwhile, the flooding on the Oder River was enormous,” he added.
According to a report by the State Water Holding Polish Waters, 238,045 people were affected by the 2024 flood, and around 4,500 were evacuated. Slightly more than 10,500 residential buildings were flooded.
“EU funds can be spent in different ways and on different purposes. Investment in infrastructure that prevents natural disasters is a good direction for EU money. Of course, national funding is also necessary, but I believe the European Union should support such solutions in the face of the threats we see on its territory every year. In many southern member states these are massive wildfires, while in Central Europe they are floods,” Maciej Wąsik said.
