On Saturday, 3 January 2026, a major power outage affected south-west Berlin. The districts of Nikolassee, Wannsee, Zehlendorf and Lichterfelde in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf were largely without electricity for more than 4.5 days under wintry weather conditions. 

In response, the team at the Disaster Research Unit (DRU), in collaboration with the Academy of the Disaster Research Unit (ADRU), conducted a quick-response study during and immediately after the event. The aim was to examine how civil protection services and civil society in Berlin responded to the prolonged power cut.
The findings of this project, together with a short introduction to the quick-response methodology, have now been published in English on the DRU-blog.

A German version of the blog post had already been published earlier.
In addition to the qualitative rapid assessment conducted during and immediately after the outage, research partners at DRU and ADRU also carried out a public opinion survey shortly after power was restored. This survey explored how affected residents experienced the outage, what needs they had, and what forms of support they received.
These results will be presented by Sara Merkes, Katja Schule and Theresa Zimmermann at the NEEDS Conference in Kaunas, Lithuania, on Thursday, 30 April 2026, in their presentation: Blackout in a Berlin Neighborhood: Voices of Those Affected.