Styrian Avalanche Service - danger scale 5 - more than 200 avalanches

In Styria there are 35 avalanche commissions for 47 parishes. They are divided into 11 different political areas. The local avalanche commission has the function to advise the public au- thorities of the emergency service. The avalanche commission can also advise other decision makers and if necessary suggest arrangements to reduce avalanche danger. Within the avalanche service there were 20 meteorological weather stations equipped. The total number of voluntary local members of avalanche commissions is 298 at the moment. Of these are 3 members of the federal state Carinthia, 8 members of Upper Austria and 287 members of Styria. In the final organisation plan of the Styrian avalanche service you find the members of the ava- lanche commissions, their education and their function. Their sphere of action can be found in the rules and regulations of the avalanche commissions. The temporally limited number of arrangements concern the organized skiing area, transport routes and settlement areas. The assessment of ava- lanche danger in the free skiing area is not the job of the avalanche commission. The members of the avalanche commission work voluntarily and unsalaried but are provided with the best insurance cov- erage of "Land Steiermark". The avalanche report is a service for all end-users. In 2005 Styria was affected by catastrophic avalanches like no other federal state in Austria. Between February 2 nd and February 5 th , 2005 there were more than 200 avalanches registered in Styria. All end-users got a good information about the avalanche situation on the homepage from the avalanche service Styria (www.lawine-steiermark.at).