Fogo, Cape Verde 23 June 2006

Day 3 Daily report by Evert Somer, civil emergency expert from NATO External link Website of Exercise "Steadfast Jaguar 2006" Multimedia 23 Jun. 2006 - NATO Audio file of the daily audio diary .MP3/1079Kb News 21 Jun. 06 - NATO Inferno threat in exercise scenario In the further build-up for Exercise Steadfast Jaguar 2006, this morning the 23rd of June at 6:00 o'clock, essential supplies and personnel for the establishment of the camp for the evacuees has arrived. Some 38-man Cape Verdean army personnel and six of the Red Cross will start this morning establishing a camp for approximately 200 persons. This would normally be enough for those inhabitants of the Caldeiras who cannot be accommodated with friends and family. In the meantime, the civil protection of Cape Verde, together with the local Red Cross, has started an information campaign for the inhabitants of the Caldeiras. Local radio stations are transmitting these messages and Red Cross volunteers deliver to all inhabitants a leaflet with information they need to know in case emergency evacuation during this exercise will become necessary. There might, however, be a small problem. Over the years the Cha das Caldeiras has become a popular place for tourists. An estimated number of a 100 tourists might be in the mountains. Efforts are now underway to locate and alert them as well. The capacity of the camp for evacuees might not be enough. Therefore the NRF is asked to be ready in case of need to assist in increasing the capacity. An alternative site for such a camp has, in the meantime, been identified. Exercise reports coming in from the project team on geographical vigilance of the Fogo volcano indicate that the activity of the volcano is still increasing. Bringing the alert level to a higher level might therefore become necessary in the coming hours. In the ongoing review of the national emergency response plan for the Fogo volcano, we had in the meantime valuable discussion with the mayor of Mosteiros and a representative of the Red Cross. They provided valuable insight in how the plan has been established and their involvement in the disaster planning and the execution of the plan. Also the frequent co-ordination meetings we are all organizations participating in the exercise, including the civil military co-operation support element, provide detailed status reports, provide valuable information on the review of this plan.