[Heavy snowfalls and electrical power cuts in the Muenster area in November and December of 2005: implications on foodstuffs and health sector, private disaster preparedness and stockpiling].

Heavy snowfalls caused electrical power cuts in the rural Muenster area in November and December of 2005. Because of the necessity of complex relief coordination, the incident command was soon transferred to the administrative districts. In a survey, 591 of the affected households were asked in written form on their attitude towards disaster preparedness and private stockpiling of foodstuffs in the districts of Steinfurt und Borken in June, 2006. Even their personal experience of a failure of critical infrastructures had not changed the confidence of the affected population in public disaster management and their unconcerned attitude towards private stockpiling of foodstuffs had not been affected either.