South Khorasan on Alert for Rainfall; Resources Mobilized to Contain Floods

Birjand – The director general of crisis management at the South Khorasan Governorate says executive agencies are prepared for upcoming rainfall and that the province's precipitation is expected to increase.

Ambassador Arjan of the Group of Provinces: Due to the possibility of heavy rains and floods in the coming months, crisis management in South Khorasan depends more than ever on the readiness of the devices, prevention of damages and the use of the capacities of the people and the private sector; The issue that the director general of crisis management of the governorate has addressed in a conversation with Mehr, by describing preventive measures, training programs and concluding 25 memorandums of understanding to strengthen the province's ability to respond to incidents.

Mohammad Ali Akhundi stated: "Crisis management is not limited to the time of the incident, but includes a series of preventive measures, preparation, dealing with the incident, and reconstruction and rehabilitation after it."

He stated that a crisis occurs when an incident exceeds the normal capacities for management, and added: For example, rain is not a crisis by itself, but when torrential rains lead to flooding and damage, critical conditions are created.

The Director General of Crisis Management of South Khorasan Governorate continued: Crisis management means using administrative capacities, people, private sector and past knowledge and experiences to prevent accidents, reduce damages and manage their consequences.

Akhundi said: It is not possible to completely prevent the occurrence of natural crises, but with planning, financing, manpower and implementation of preventive measures, the damages can be minimized and even close to zero.

He listed the creation of flood dams and coastal walls among the effective measures in reducing flood damages and stated: The more timely and complete the preventive measures are, the less the possible damages.

Emphasizing that crisis management has four main stages, he said: risk prevention and reduction, preparation, response or response when an accident occurs, and reconstruction and rehabilitation after an accident are the four main parts of this cycle.

The Director General of Crisis Management of South Khorasan Governorate continued: In the reconstruction phase, it should not be enough to return the conditions to the pre-accident situation, but try to bring the infrastructure to a better condition than in the past.

general education; The focus of crisis management week programs

Director General of Crisis Management of South Khorasan Governorate, referring to the crisis management week programs, said: This year, general education of the people and improving the preparation of managers and local officials has been one of the main axes of the programs.

Akhundi added: The plans for this occasion have been followed for a few days with the axes of risk reduction, preparedness and coping, and the introduction of capacities, and in this regard, coordination and brainstorming meetings were held with executive and specialized agencies.

Referring to the role of South Khorasan Radio and Television and the Red Crescent Society in the field of education and information, he said: In the coordination meetings, the media and specialized capacities of the province have been reviewed to increase public awareness and transmit educational and warning messages.

The Director General of Crisis Management of South Khorasan Governorate mentioned the honoring of the rescuers as one of the other programs of these days and said: Red Crescent rescuers have provided significant services in various incidents and also during the war, by being present in the affected areas, which has also received the attention and approval of the national authorities.

Referring to the role of emergency forces, Red Crescent and firemen in accidents, Akhundi added: Firefighters are stable and effective forces in the management of accidents, and in this regard, a program was held to appreciate their efforts with the focus of Birjand Municipality.

He continued: training managers and employees of executive bodies, mayors and villagers has been on the agenda; Part of these trainings were held in person and virtually, and the training of the villagers of the province was also followed with the center of the scientific and applied center of Birjand municipality.

The Director General of Crisis Management of South Khorasan Governorate listed environmental advertising, informing, publishing warning messages, visiting special projects and places, and holding specialized meetings as other measures taken.

He also announced plans to hold "Zero Hour" maneuvers at the level of specialized agencies and governorates and said: These maneuvers are planned with the governorates as their focus to evaluate the level of preparedness and coordination of the agencies in facing incidents.

Conclusion of 25 memorandums of understanding to use the capacity of the private sector and people

Referring to the necessity of using the capacities of the people and the private sector in times of crisis, Akhundi said: One of the important needs in disaster management is to establish a coherent relationship between the people, the private sector and government agencies so that aid reaches the affected areas in an organized and targeted manner.

He added: In this regard, the "Iran Man" camp has been taken into consideration with the aim of linking the capacities of the people and the private sector with the governance structure and executive institutions, and 25 memorandums of understanding have been concluded with the private sector groups, factories, large industries and some institutions, including the Headquarters for the Reconstruction of Supreme Monuments and Basij Construction.

The General Director of Crisis Management of South Khorasan Governorate stated that these cooperations can be used in various incidents and said: If people's aid is done without coordination, it may be scattered and it becomes difficult to manage and monitor it. Therefore, establishing a clear relationship with people's groups and non-governmental organizations helps to provide services in a regular framework.

Referring to the experience of using people's capacities in past incidents, Akhundi said: In some incidents of 1401, including incidents related to Tabas, people's capacities and volunteer institutions were used to accommodate and feed the injured, and large tents were set up to accommodate people, which in some cases housed about 250 people.

He stated that the firefighting capacity of industrial complexes and specialized forces was also used in the mini-refinery incident, and said: "Also, the armed forces and the army used their machines and equipment to move people and help the people during the floods in Zirkoh and Khosuf."

Preparation of South Khorasan for rains

The Director General of Crisis Management of South Khorasan Governorate mentioned helping to relocate the entrance examination candidates in special circumstances as another example of the cooperation of different forces in accidents and said: these experiences show that coordination between the executive bodies, relief forces, the private sector and the people can be very effective in reducing damages and speeding up service delivery.

Referring to the measures taken to solve the problems of earthen dams after the past floods, Akhundi said: In the past, with the cooperation of natural resources, earthen dams with problems were identified and plans were made to fix their defects in order to reduce the risk of damage in future floods.

He also pointed to the severe floods in Zirkoh city and the occurrence of several flood waves in a short period of time and stated: Despite the severity of the incidents, there were no casualties and the scene management and coordination of the forces played an effective role in controlling the situation.

Preparation of devices to deal with floods

Akhundi said about the level of preparedness of the province against weather warnings: weather forecasts are made based on maps and scientific data, and the intensity and amount of rainfall may also change with the change of weather conditions; Therefore, warnings should be taken seriously and the readiness of devices should be increased according to possible conditions.

Referring to the forecasts related to the El Nino phenomenon, he said: According to the forecasts, 27 provinces of the country will be affected by this phenomenon, and some northern and western provinces and parts of the southern part of the country, including areas of Sistan and Baluchistan, Hormozgan and Kerman, will face more impacts.

Akhundi continued: The necessary instructions have been communicated to the provinces and by issuing weather warnings, especially orange warnings, supplementary meetings and local planning will be done with the focus of the governorates.

Emphasizing the role of the private sector in disaster management, he said: Big industries and mines of the province can help executive and relief agencies by providing machinery, equipment, and manpower when a crisis occurs. These capacities can be used within the framework of my Iran camp and with the coordination of the responsible institutions.

The Director General of Crisis Management of South Khorasan Governorate noted: The readiness of the technical, relief, service and infrastructure forces of the province, along with the spirit of cooperation of the people and managers, is considered an important capacity for disaster management, and we are trying to minimize the possible damage of the upcoming rains, especially the loss of life, by strengthening coordination.

He emphasized: Although the occurrence of all accidents or all damages caused by them cannot be ruled out completely, prevention, timely preparation and cooperation of all institutions can play a decisive role in reducing the consequences of the crisis.