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| Updated: 02-Feb-2006 | NATO On-line library |
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Security through Partnership Disaster-preparedness and response
Cooperation with regard to disaster-preparedness and response, referred to in NATO as “civil emergency planning”, has been taking place between NATO countries for years. It was extended to include Partner countries in the 1990s and makes up the largest non-military component of Partnership for Peace activities. Based on a Russian proposal, a Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) was established in 1998 to coordinate responses among EAPC countries to disasters occurring in the Euro-Atlantic area.
Effective responses to disasters call for the coordination of transport facilities, medical resources, communications, disaster-response capabilities and other civil resources. All countries are responsible for ensuring that plans are in place at the national level for dealing with emergencies. However, given the potential cross-border character of some disasters and the need to be able to respond effectively to calls for international assistance, cooperation and planning at the international level is indispensable. Cooperation between NATO and Partner countries in civil emergency planning includes activities such as seminars, workshops, exercises and training courses, which bring together civil and military personnel from different levels of local, regional and national governments. Other international organisations, such as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Union, are also important participants, as are non-governmental relief organisations. Thanks to the development of contingency plans, appropriate procedures and the necessary equipment, as well as common training and exercises, NATO and Partner countries have been able to coordinate assistance effectively, through the EADRCC, in response to several natural disasters. These include floods in Albania, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine; earthquakes in Turkey; forest fires in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia* and Portugal; and extreme weather in Moldova and Ukraine. Flood assistance Western Ukraine has experienced 13 major floods during the last century. NATO and Partner countries assisted Ukraine after severe floods in 1995, 1998 and 2001. Since 1997, under a memorandum of understanding on civil emergency planning and disaster preparedness, a major programme of cooperation in this area has brought direct practical benefits for Ukraine. A key focus has been to help Ukraine, whose western parts are prone to heavy flooding, to prepare better for such emergencies and to manage their consequences more effectively. PfP exercises, including one held in Ukraine’s Trans-Carpathia region in September 2000, help test disaster-relief procedures such as conducting air reconnaissance, evacuating victims and deploying water purification equipment. Moreover, a pilot project, concluded in 2001, brought together more than 40 flood and emergency experts from twelve different countries to develop practical recommendations for an effective flood-warning and response system for the Tisza River catchment area. Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre In June 1998, a Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) was established at NATO headquarters, based on a proposal made by Russia. The Centre, which is operational on a 24-hour basis, acts as a focal point for information- sharing and coordinates responses among NATO and Partner countries to disasters in the Euro-Atlantic area. It also organises major civil emergency exercises, which practise responses to simulated natural and man-made disaster situations as well as consequence management actions following a terrorist act involving chemical, biological or radiological agents. The Centre works closely with international agencies that play a leading role in responding to international disasters and in consequence management – the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons – and other organisations. Countries are encouraged to develop bilateral or multilateral arrangements to address issues such as visa regulations, border-crossing arrangements, transit agreements, customs clearance and status of personnel. Such measures avoid bureaucratic delays in the deployment of relief items and teams to an actual disaster location. Arrangements have also been made for a Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Unit, which is made up of a mix of national elements that countries are prepared to make available at short notice when a disaster strikes. Further information: www.nato.int/eadrcc/home.htm
Refugee relief The EADRCC became involved immediately upon its creation in early June 1998, when the UNHCR asked for help to transport 165 tonnes of urgently needed relief items to refugees in Albania. Over the next few months, as the crisis evolved, an effective basis for cooperation between the EADRCC and UNHCR was established. EADRCC personnel also made several trips to the region to develop a better understanding of the situation. This groundwork made it possible to intensify and broaden involvement in the relief effort, when the crisis escalated in spring 1999 with the launch of Allied air strikes and the forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians by Serbian forces. The Centre served as a focal point for information-sharing among EAPC countries and helped coordinate responses to requests for assistance. Relief items such as medical supplies and equipment, telecommunications equipment, shoes and clothing, and tents for over 20,000 people were dispatched. The EADRCC also channelled aid to the region from non-Partner countries such as Israel, which provided a fully staffed and equipped field hospital, and the United Arab Emirates, which helped repair Kukes airfield in north-eastern Albania. Aircraft, helicopters, cargo-handling teams and logistical advice were provided to help with the transport and distribution of aid. The EADRCC also played a significant role in the coordination of priority humanitarian flights by bringing together key actors in the air-traffic management field to develop appropriate procedures and by arranging for air-traffic experts to be assigned to the UN Air Coordination Cell. The EADRCC acted in addition as an interlocutor with other NATO and non-NATO bodies, on behalf of the two countries most affected by the crisis, Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, by articulating and explaining specific concerns. One such issue was the urgent need to establish mechanisms allowing evacuation to third countries, to act as a humanitarian safety valve, as the refugee crisis intensified. Preparing for terrorist attacks
A Civil Emergency Planning Action Plan has been agreed to assist national authorities in improving their civil preparedness for possible terrorist attacks with CBRN weapons. NATO and its Partner countries have prepared and are continuously updating an inventory of national capabilities that would be available in the event of such an attack. These involve everything from medical assistance to radiological detection, to identification laboratories, to aero-medical evacuation capabilities. Stockpiles are being developed of the more critical items that might be needed. Work on improving border-crossing procedures aims to ensure assistance can arrive as quickly as possible in an emergency. Minimum standards are being developed for training, planning and equipment. Field exercises are organised regularly in the framework of the Partnership for Peace to ensure that countries work together as effectively as possible in responding to a terrorist attack and managing its consequences. Specifically, this involves improving the interoperability of the different teams that would deal with medical and first aid issues and with decontamination and clean-up. Another key issue being examined is how best to handle public information in such stressful emergency situations.
“Dirty bomb” exercise An exercise simulating an international response to a terrorist attack using a “dirty bomb” (a radiological dispersal device) was held in October 2003 in Piteşti, Romania (a Partner country at the time). Some 1,300 Romanian and 350 international personnel took part.
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