Switzerland increases investment in natural hazard protection and warning systems

Switzerland is significantly increasing its financial commitment to protecting citizens and infrastructure from natural hazards such as avalanches and debris flows. Public spending for natural hazard protection is projected to rise from approximately 656 million Swiss francs in 2024 to around 755 million Swiss francs in 2025.

According to the PLANAT survey, the total annual expenditure for protection, including private investments and insurance, reaches approximately 3 billion Swiss francs. These funds support avalanche barriers, torrent control structures, and the maintenance of protective forests. To address increasing extreme weather events, the federal government has requested an additional 27 million Swiss francs for the 2025–2028 period.

In parallel, the Federal Council is seeking a commitment credit of 165.4 million Swiss francs to modernize national warning and alarm systems. The initiative aims to upgrade the Alertswiss platform, implement a new remote siren activation system, and transfer siren responsibility to the cantons. The modernization strategy focuses on digital accessibility, ensuring information is available on smartphones even without a network connection, and providing machine-readable data for integration into third-party applications like vehicle operating systems.