Pashinyan raises issue of compliance of bomb shelters with  international standards

ArmInfo.RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) to participate in the discussion of the performance report 2022 of the  ministry, the press service of the Premier reports.

Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, Chief of Staff of the Prime  Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, Minister of Finance Tigran Khachatryan,  Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Pambukhchyan, Head of the  State Supervision Service Romanos Petrosyan, officials of the Prime  Minister's staff, the leadership of the Ministry of Emergency  Situations and other officials participated in the consultation.   Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Pambukhchyan and deputy  ministers presented the works done according to sectors.

Before the consultation, the Prime Minister got acquainted with the  technical means of the MES Rescue Service and their capabilities.

During the discussion, it was reported that during the reporting  period, training of management staff and specialists, fire rescuers  was carried out at the Academy of Emergency Management. During the  current year, 454 students were admitted to the academy instead of  252 last year. An IT laboratory was formed in the academy.

It was noted that the goal of the academy is to create a culture of  safety among the population, exchange programs and experience with  leading educational institutions abroad.  Next, the ongoing works in  the direction of seismic risk assessment and risk reduction were  presented, within the scope of which maps were digitized, seismic  risk assessment was carried out, and the GPS stations operating in  Karbi and Aruch were modernized. About 50,000 people participated in  the evacuation exercises during the reporting period.  Referring to  the activities of the National Center for Technical Safety, the  officials in charge referred to the examinations carried out in the  field of technical and fire safety. It was also noted that  examination of of operation of more than 400 elevators were carried  out in the current year.

It was reported that the legislative draft on the technical rules for  the operation of warehouses of explosive products was developed, the  purpose of which is to regulate the field of explosive materials, to  bring hazardous production facilities into compliance with safety  requirements.  Within the scope of activities of the Russian-Armenian  humanitarian response center, the works were aimed at preventing  emergency situations and providing rapid assistance to the  population. 226 rescuers were trained at the center this year.  Another 200 rescuers will be trained soon.

A single call center has been created for the Emergency Assistance  103, Police 102, and MES 911 services, which allows the above  services to transfer the necessary information to their colleagues at  the touch of a button. A single phone number will be introduced in  the near future.  Then the National Strategy for Disaster Risk  Management and the action plan for its implementation were presented.  It was noted that the goals of the strategy are: prevention of  emergency situations, disaster risk reduction and management,  attraction of investments in the field of disaster risk reduction,  capacity building in the areas of effective response and  post-disaster recovery.

The strategy defines 21 goals and 35 measures, the funding sources  and predicted amounts of which are specified.  The strategy provides  for implementation of population protection planning, introduction of  a centralized population early warning system, monitoring system,  preparation and training of specialists based on international  experience.   The strategy is expected to be adopted during the first quarter of  next year.  It was also reported that 1053 warning horns were  reactivated and installed in the republic during the current year.

Reference was also made to the main priorities outlined in the  direction of international cooperation. It was reported that 13  international programs were implemented in 2022. The works were also  aimed at the construction and furnishing of shelters.   Summarizing the meeting, the Prime Minister referred to the  preservation of shelters' compliance with international standards,  the increase in the quality of the activities of the Rescue Service.  "Our task should be changing the standard of the Rescue Service, the  voluntary certification system should also be introduced to this  structure. We must set a goal of having a Rescue Service of the  highest modern standards, supported by salary levels and social  guarantees. Here we should be guided by the best modern standards and  focus on that logic in the near future," said Nikol Pashinyan.  The  Prime Minister inquired about the technical needs of the Rescue  Service, the adequacy of the infrastructure and emphasized the need  to have a strategy and road map of the development of the  aforementioned service.