The federal natural hazards portal
The starting point
The Problem
The portal dated from 2013. The interactive warning map sat on older technology and older UX: warnings appeared as a hover tooltip instead of in an info box. Editors had to assemble natural hazards bulletins laboriously from CMS stock components. And naturgefahren.ch ran as its own system alongside meteoschweiz.admin.ch.
The Solution
Quatico rebuilt both, on the shared platform with MeteoSchweiz. The warning map is redesigned from the ground up and answers three questions: Am I affected? What is the hazard? What should I do? And for the natural hazards bulletin there is the NGB tool, built entirely out of the editors' own subject domain.
The implementation
Since go-live, two federal portals have shared one platform, one component set and one operation:
Am I affected?
Search by town or postcode, or drop a pin, and the map zooms to the right extent on its own. «My Places» remembers the locations you keep checking.
What is the hazard, what should I do?
The warning sits in an info box instead of a hover tooltip, with the danger level and a timeline for how long it is valid. The explanation of danger levels and the recommended behaviour are linked per hazard type.
Twelve hazard types, a map that stays clear
From storms and floods through avalanches and forest fire to earthquakes and drought. The colour legend and the info box fold away. Operation is substantially better across all viewports than before.
NGB tool for the natural hazards bulletin
Built entirely in the subject domain with behaviour-driven development, so editors can publish simply, safely and smoothly under time pressure. Per-language release, structural templates, import of FOEN station data, output as web, PDF and Word and to the federal offices' downstream systems.
One CMS, two tenants
naturgefahren.ch and meteoschweiz.admin.ch run as two tenants in the same CMS, with one connection to the federal IAM. Warnings and bulletins also appear on meteoschweiz.admin.ch.
Design system to the Swiss federal web guidelines
Shared at the base, separated by subject matter: header, footer and search look the same on both portals, the home pages differ.
Measurable outcomes
In service since go-live on 19 November 2025 — including through the 2026 heatwave:
Warnings usually online in under two minutes
A submitted warning is usually visible on the portal in under two minutes. The portal has run without interruption since go-live, including through the 2026 heatwave.
Accessibility proven, not asserted
The entire portal is certified to WCAG 2.1 AA — to the best of our knowledge the first fully certified website of the Swiss federal government. Operable with screen reader, keyboard and magnification.
Four agencies on one portal
MeteoSchweiz for storm warnings, the FOEN for flood, forest fire and drought warnings, the SLF for avalanche bulletins and the SED for earthquake reports: all publish through the same platform without giving up editorial authority over their own subject area.
The same bulletin, without collisions
One agency writes the flood section, another the French version of a natural hazards bulletin. A lock prevents two of them from editing the same section at once, and every agency sees the others' changes. In a follow-up bulletin, whatever differs from its predecessor is marked.
Modern technologies
More success stories
MeteoSchweiz
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Talk to us
Michael — A platform where several agencies publish together — and that can prove its accessibility. Michael will be glad to advise you.