TEHRAN –The second national risk reduction forum was held in Tehran on Tuesday to highlight the role of preparedness in dealing with natural disasters.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, Department of Environment Head Ali Salajeqeh, and more than 200 experts and university professors attended the event.

"The organized presence of non-governmental organizations is very necessary after a crisis," Vahidi said, IRNA reported.

What is important and should be paid attention to is organizing people after the crisis to help provide aid, he added.

“After the occurrence of any crisis and before the arrival of rescue and relief forces, people of the region can greatly help.”

Throughout the meeting, Vahidi underscored the necessity of continuous training of organizations and said crisis headquarters and other organizations need to improve their existing knowledge and skills; continuous learning is the key to effective crisis management which reduces vulnerability to disasters.

He highlighted organizing non-governmental organizations, accelerating new infrastructures, identifying the risk and reducing its consequences, and creating the potential for the cohesion of the forces during crisis.

To be able to respond more effectively to a crisis, responsible teams have to be present on the scene to identify the crisis and take necessary steps to create a crisis management plan to reduce the risks of accidents, Vahidi said.

“It is very important to encourage people's collaboration in crisis and to organize them to provide help to those in need.”

Vahidi also stressed the need to develop infrastructures for the use of seismographs and accelerometers. Crisis Management Organization will support the establishment of necessary facilities.

Regarding the issue of crisis economy, Vahidi suggested forming a work group to examine and analyze the relationship between the government and the public in crisis situations.

Environmental protection essential

Referring to natural resources and the ways to use them, Ali Salajeqeh, the head of the Department of Environment, stated that disasters are either natural or man-made, and the principle of prevention in either case is to preserve natural resources and the environment.

Apart from climate change that is affecting the country, the problem of waste management, caused by people, is becoming a crisis for the country, which is hoped to be resolved.

Cultural competence

During the meeting, Mohammad-Hassan Nami, the head of Crisis Management Organization, referring to the goals and duties of the national forum, said the institution has five specialized committees and should hold meetings twice a year.

The discussions and ideas throughout the year are reviewed by the committees and presented in the forum.

The forum has 220 members, the heads of various research institutions that are related to the issue of natural disasters are among the main members of the forum.

Pointing out that Iran is a disaster-prone country where 44 out of 64 known hazards in the world occur, he added within the forum, the focus is mostly on hazards such as floods, storms, droughts, subsidence earthquakes, frostbite, fires, fine dust, outbreaks of diseases and the way to deal with them.

Some 250 natural disasters annually

In October 2023, Jafar Miadfar, head of Iran’s Emergency Organization, said approximately 250 natural disasters hit the country every year.

Based on a report published by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), the country is in the risk level eight out of ten, he added.

A total of 40 natural disasters are known in the world, 32 of which occur in Iran, ISNA quoted Miadfar as saying.

“Iran is one of the ten highly hazard-prone countries in the world. It ranks fourth in Asia.

The Iranian people’s vulnerability to natural disasters is 80 percent.”

As a result of these natural hazards, some 3,000 people are killed, 9,000 people are physically injured, and 1.5 million people are affected, he noted.

“Geographical location, topographical features of Iran, and high structural and non-structural vulnerability of the society strengthens natural hazards impacts leading to countless deaths and injuries and other health consequences,” Miadfar highlighted.

He added the rapid development of urbanization has caused many rural residents to live on the outskirts of big cities, places which do not have the necessary resistance against disasters.

Failing to strengthen resilience to natural hazards while developing cities, i.e. poor urban planning and lack of Iranian households' preparedness against disasters are the factors that intensify the damage caused by increasing natural hazards, particularly climate hazards.

Smart crisis management systems on agenda

Designing and launching comprehensive systems with various layers of data for smart management of natural disasters are on the agenda, Hossein Zafari, an official with the Crisis Management Organization, said on February 9.

Iran has about one percent of the world's population, but accounts for six percent of the damages caused by natural disasters, IRNA quoted Zafari as saying.

Surveys show that the damages caused by natural and man-made disasters in Iran cause an average of five billion dollars in damage annually, which has made Iran one of the ten most disaster-prone countries in the world and the fourth country in Asia, he explained.

The Iranian plateau, with its location between two vast expanses of water as well as the intersection of the Eurasian plateau and Saudi Arabia, has always been exposed to numerous natural hazards and disasters.

According to UN surveys, the main natural disasters listed for Iran in 2022 were drought, floods, and earthquakes. Subsidence is also a phenomenon that has emerged as one of the consequences of drought along with the aforementioned three challenges.

Earthquake, as one of the main natural challenges, occasionally becomes an uninvited guest of Iranian homes. On the other hand, the existence of important rivers and water reservoirs in the country has also increased flood risk.

Land subsidence, a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth's surface due to subsurface movement of earth materials is mainly caused by aquifer-system compaction, drainage, and decomposition of organic soils, underground mining, oil and gas extraction, hydro compaction, natural compaction, sinkholes, and thawing permafrost.

 Iran’s potential in dealing with natural disasters

In 2022, Stefan Priesner, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Iran, said, “Iran has the potential to deal with natural disasters broadly and the United Nations is willing to document these valuable experiences.”

In case of natural disasters, the United Nations is ready to provide services by forming a permanent working group with representatives of the UN, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Crisis Management Organization, IRNA quoted Priesner as saying.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Nami, suggesting that the two sides should hold meetings every three months for further coordination.

For his part, Nami said all nations have a sense of philanthropy and kindness, but they will face sanctions if they want to provide help. So, this issue should be resolved.

In June 2023, Priesner said the United Nations will use all its power and capacity to assist Iran in dealing with natural hazards by increasing operational performance and improving safety in specialized areas.

“Expressing the desirable capacities of Iran in dealing with natural hazards, he said that we will do everything to assist Iran. In this regard, we can increase operational performance and improve safety in the sector to enhance cooperation.”

MT/MG