Norway

• Capital: Oslo
• Population: 4, 8 million
• Language: Norwegian, Sami

• 430 municipalities divided into 19 counties.
• Organisation of civil protection and disaster preparedness:
• Though all ministries in Norway with their directorates have independent sectoral responsibility there are two main bodies with an overall responsibility of planning and coordination within civil protection and disaster preparedness, and they are (information from websites www.regjeringen.no and www.dsb.no ): The Rescue and Emergency Planning Department and the the Directorate for Civil Defence and Emergency Planning (DSB)
• The Rescue and Emergency Planning Department within the Ministry of Justice and the Police is the superior authority to the Directorate for Civil Defence and Emergency Planning.
• The Rescue Service Unit within the department coordinates the administration of the Rescue Service in Norway, including follow-up of bilateral and multilateral agreements entered into by the Ministry of Justice and the main rescue coordination centres. The unit is also responsible for administration of the two main rescue coordination centres.
• The Norwegian rescue services are based on a cooperation between government agencies, voluntary organisations and private companies who have resources appropriate for rescue services.
• The Emergency Planning Unit within the department has a comprehensive, multisectoral responsibility for coordination of emergency planning, where each ministry has independent sectoral responsibility. This means that all proposals for new or major amendments to current laws and regulations in the area of emergency planning shall be submitted to the Ministry for comment. The unit coordinates budget proposals associated with the fiscal budget and long-term plans for civil emergency preparedness.
• The unit is also responsible for management of the Directorate for Civil Defence and Emergency Planning, including the Civil Defence. Through cooperation with the County Governors, the Directorate shall establish conditions to enable the municipalities to prevent and deal with crisis situations both in peacetime and wartime.
• The operational concept of the Directorate for Civil Defence and Emergency Planning (DSB) includes
  • have full overview over developing vulnerable situations and looming perils which threaten society – in peacetime and war
  • take initiatives to prevent accidents, disasters and other undesired occurrences
  • ensure that preparedness measures are adequate
  • in the event of inadequate safety and preparedness measures take initiative for follow up with the responsible authorities
• DSB is the national public authority for county governors’ emergency preparedness and response work and reports to the Ministry of Justice and Police.

Norwegian Red Cross

• The Norwegian Red Cross is one of 9 voluntary organisations integrated as a part of the Norwegian rescue service.
• The Norwegian Red Cross is represented with 320 Red Cross Search and Rescue Teams.
• The Norwegian Red Cross is accepted by the Ministry of Defence to support the medical services of the armed forces in wartime.
• Red Cross activities in general are represented in 411 of the 430 municipalities with approx. 20 000 volunteers in total.
• As a principle - the local Red Cross branches are ment to be included and to participate in the municipal preparedness planning and are prepared to support the community based on the need of the municipality and the RC capacity when large accidents or disasters occurs.
• At a national level the major public authority partners are:
  • Ministry of Justice and the Police and the Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergency Planning
  • Ministry of Health and Care Services and the Directorate of Health
  • Ministry of Defence

  Useful Links

  • Ministry of Justice and the Police
  • Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergency Planning
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