A large-scale earthquake drill took place in Bucharest and Iasi, Romania on 1st and 2nd November 2016 with the aim to test the response time and intervention capacity in the country in case of major earthquake. The drill was led by the Romanian Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication (SMURD), under the command of Dr. Raed Arafat, Secretary of State within the Ministry of Interior and coordinator of the Department of Emergency Situations.
The simulation scenario presented by the Ministry of Interior was the occurrence of a 7.6-magnitude tremor in the Vrancea seismic area at 08:04 local time on 1st November, followed by a 5.6-magnitude replica at 14:30. The presumed number of casualties for such a scenario is more than 1,500 victims and over 4,100 injured in Bucharest, according to the data presented by the ministry.
In a press conference on 1st November the Interior Minister Dragos Tudorache, said that the operations would involve all the responsible authorities in such situations, trying to push the forces’ ability to maximum and test the time for intervention.
Dr. Raed Arafat said he was alerted at 08:04 local time and all units of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, the police, and the gendarmerie were immediately at red alert level. “That means the entire staff will be physically brought in”, said Dr. Arafat.
SMURD is involved in CARISMAND project through their Foundation for SMURD - a non-governmental organization, private legal entity, non-profit, non-political, and independent of any other institution or person, either of Romanian or foreign nature, which was established in 2006. Its aim is to support the activity performed by SMURD through specific means of non-governmental field, namely implementation of specific projects and programs.
Founder and coordinator of SMURD is Dr. Raed Arafat, a Senior Physician in Anesthesia and Intensive Care with competency in Emergency Medicine, Phd. Candidate and Master of Science in Disaster Medicine, Associate Professor, Secretary of State within the Ministry of Interior and the coordinator of the Department of Emergency Situations. CARISMAND’s stakeholders had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Arafat at the First Stakeholder Assembly organised within the project on 14-15 April 2016 in Bucharest, Romania.
News sources:
Carla Dinu at HotNews.ro
Irina Popescu at Romanian-Insider.ro
