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Communication in an emergency

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In an emergency, various structures arise to manage the situation: an Operational Command Post in the field, a coordination committee in a municipality, province or at the National Crisis Center... It is important that all these people are in contact with each other. Special channels have been developed for this purpose.

National security portal Paragon

The National Security Portal Paragon is an online platform to which all partners have access during an emergency. Through this platform they can quickly exchange information.

The platform includes:

  • A database with all the contact information that is useful in an emergency. 
  • A library with contingency plans

In an emergency situation, the platform one can be used to

  • Share a map. On this map, all important areas or locations can be shown (e.g. the intervention areas or the location of the Operational Command Post)
  • Share the actions taken by all partners involved in a feed, both multidisciplinary and per discipline
  • Create situational reports that reflect the situation at a single point in time

Astrid

Emergency services and partners are also in contact via radio communication. They use ASTRID radio communication for that. The capacity of the network is designed for emergencies.

CST

In a complex emergency situation, it is always a challenge to ensure that all partners have the most up-to-date information. However, a common operational picture and flow of information are crucial aspects in crisis management.

To assist emergency services and authorities with crisis management, a support team, the Crisis Support Team (CST), was set up. The Crisis Support Team is a team of volunteers who can support crisis management in a crisis cell and/or the CP-Ops. Members of the CST are trained to optimally support the flow of information and form a common operational picture.