ZAGREB, 5 July (Hina) - SEPORA, a European initiative by the City of Rijeka and Slovenia's Postojna, aimed at improving preparedness and response to natural disasters and other emergencies in the cross-border area between Croatia and Slovenia, was presented at the Rijeka City Council.
The project helps the area from Rijeka to Postojna to be better prepared and more organised, which in critical moments translates to faster and more effective assistance to citizens.
The SEPORA Project (SEctorisation POstojna Rijeka Action) is a joint initiative by the City of Rijeka, the Civil Protection Unit for Urban Search and Rescue of the City of Rijeka, the Municipality of Postojna, and the Postojna Volunteer Fire Brigade.
The project covers an area of heightened seismic activity with a significant concentration of earthquake epicentres, namely, the tectonic unit Ilirska Bistrica – Rijeka – Omišalj – Novi Vinodolski, which forms a continuous belt with an average width of 30 kilometres.
The main goal of the project is the geographical sectorisation from the Bay of Bakar to Postojna, in line with international guidelines for coordinating responses to devastating earthquakes.
This will enable more effective coordination and task allocation among rescue teams, and enhance preparedness for responding to natural disasters and other emergency situations.
Geographical sectorisation is a tool for rescuers that defines the search area and will allow for more efficient deployment of search, rescue and disaster management teams.
Sectorisation will reduce the time needed to launch coordinated rescue operations in the event of a large-scale disaster. It will also be followed by international rescue teams arriving to provide assistance.
One of the key activities in preparing the geographical sectorisation was the development of detailed high-resolution geographic maps, created by the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Rijeka.
However, maps intended for operational use in real-life situations will be developed and adjusted for each specific event or crisis, it was stated.
The SEPORA project runs from February to October and is fully funded by the European Union under the Resilient Borders programme.
