Gilan Red Crescent Prepares for El Niño; Two Rescue Helicopters Deployed

Astara – Gilan Red Crescent CEO, stressing the full readiness of rescue forces, said two rescue helicopters have been deployed in the province and all facilities and rapid response teams are ready to face El Niño.

Astara - CEO of Gilan Red Crescent emphasized the full readiness of rescue forces and said: two rescue helicopters have been deployed in the province and all facilities and rapid response teams are ready to face El Nino.

On the sidelines of the provincial crisis management headquarters meeting in Astara, Hadi Salimi, in a conversation with Mehr reporter, emphasized the preventive approach of the government in facing the "El Nino" phenomenon and stated: According to forecasts, seven provinces of the country will be involved in the peak of this phenomenon in November, and Gilan should also enter this period with full preparation.

Stating that Red Crescent programs have been developed in two axes, "Prevention" and "Operational Preparedness", he added: "Increasing people's resilience is one of the most important priorities." Especially in a situation where the country is facing combined threats and cognitive warfare. For this purpose, neighborhood-based trainings have been held for residents of flood-prone areas in all cities with the presence of crisis management and the Red Crescent so that in the event of an accident, evacuation can be done quickly and without casualties.

Referring to the occurrence of unprecedented floods in the Northern and Khuzestan provinces in the last three weeks, the CEO of Gilan Red Crescent Society said: One of the important missions of Red Crescent Society is to continue the services of executive and economic bodies in crisis situations so that no group is surprised. Necessary trainings are being conducted at the level of institutions and cities.

Criticizing the spread of false news in cyberspace during recent incidents, he clarified: In the incident of 18 Shahrivar, some unofficial media claimed heavy flooding and boat traffic in the city, while it was not true.

Salimi continued: The extensive network of Red Crescent volunteers with 170,000 members and the production of educational content, graphics and informative teasers plays an important role in dealing with this media war.

He considered it necessary to train journalists in crisis management and said: accurate, timely and effective information is an important part of crisis management and should be strengthened.

The CEO of Gilan Red Crescent Society announced the national memorandum with the Basij organization to empower popular organizations and added: Basijians participate in Red Crescent technical and scientific courses in order to play an effective role in war and crisis situations.

Referring to the logistics readiness of the province, he said: "There is no serious shortage in the field of rescue and rescue equipment, and human forces have also completed fifty-day specialized courses at the Red Crescent Training Center."

Salimi also announced the implementation of the new preparedness plan in the cities and added: the division of duties between the Red Crescent, emergency, fire department and other agencies has been determined and the incident management system (D.I.S) has recorded the capacities and deficiencies of each city.

Emphasizing that the first priority of emergency accommodation is not tents, he explained: To prevent social dissatisfaction, the capacity of mosques, mosques, schools, sports halls and hotels are used and these places have been identified in all cities.

The CEO of Gilan Red Crescent Society announced the deployment of two relief and logistics helicopters in Gilan and said: The heads of Red Crescent branches are required to determine GPS points for landing helicopters in accident-prone areas so that patient transportation, cargo unloading or flood relief operations can be carried out in the shortest possible time.

Pointing out that flood is the second most frequent hazard in the country after earthquakes, he added: The province uses new technologies such as search drones equipped with thermal cameras, and the number of these drones will increase in the coming days.

Salimi also announced cooperation with farmers to use more than two thousand tractors in possible flooding operations and said: this capacity can be used with the coordination of the governors and the Red Crescent on the day of the accident.

In the end, he emphasized: the identification of the accident-prone areas of the cities is being done under the supervision of the Red Crescent population, and we are trying to prepare the province to face the El Nino phenomenon by improving preparedness, providing services and reducing public dissatisfaction.