Russia’s first natural disaster drill underway

For the first time, a large-scale exercise in the prevention and elimination of the aftermaths of emergency situations and natural calamities has begun in Russia’s Kamchatka territory. ‘A drill of this kind embraces the entire area occupied by the region known as Russia’s volcano land,’ a spokesman for the territorial Ministry for Specialised Programmes and the Cossack Community told Itar-Tass.

The exercise that will continue through to 27 September is divided into phases. Phase 1 kicked off on Monday morning and it envisions a command staff drill in synchronising the operations of local self-government agencies and rescue services.

The legend suggests a situation where a warning on a high probability of a powerful earthquake has been received in Kamchatka and all the forces and units of the regional subsystem for response to emergency situations are placed on high alert. The authorities and rescue services will then tackle the problems of ensuring protection of the population and rendering assistance to it. This phase will continue through to 11 September when the second phase is due to begin. It presupposes the deployment of mobile hospitals and camps for provisional accommodation.