Bavaria launches first statewide civil protection command center

Bavaria has established a new Landesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz, a state office designed to coordinate disaster response and civil defence. With 85 staff across seven divisions and a command centre colocated with the police, the agency will oversee large‑scale incidents such as floods, evacuations and potential wartime threats. Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann presented the office as Germany’s first dedicated civil‑protection command centre, stressing the need for a “broad approach” covering all facets of population safety.

Critics from the Green and SPD parliamentary groups warned that the new agency must secure sufficient equipment, warning systems and personnel, and should develop an identity beyond being a renamed department of the interior ministry.