simulated earthquake. The notional of Cyprus and causing major damage GMES Project (Land/Sea Integrated in the headquarters. The German Agency a joint exercise was carried out by the erating from its General Headquarters and mapping equipment. Furthermore, gencies that require urgent response have multiplied, requiring more and earthquake occurred in the eastern Success Stories A training exercise in Cyprus demonstration of services devel- International Assistance and the Cyprus oped by the “Humanitarian Relief and Civil Defence (CCD) were responsible for puts GMES in action the organisation of the AMC. Reconstruction” cluster of the LIMES Monitoring for European Security). Thus, The scenario: earthquake and tidal by Veronika Gstaiger, Olaf Kranz wave and Alexandra Foerster AMC and LIMES in June and November The Cyprus exercise was based on a 2008 in order to test optimised process- ing chains and prototypes developed within a realistic disaster scenario. Mediterranean Sea with a tsunami-like IN JUNE 2008, AN ASSESSMENT TRAINING COURSE BROUGHT LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL tidal wave hitting the southern coast CRISIS EXPERTS TOGETHER FOR A SIMULATION EXERCISE IN CYPRUS. THE COURSE One of the objectives of the LIMES INTRODUCED THE PARTICIPANTS TO THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE EU’S MULTI-PARTNER in some regions. In the centre and on project is the development of satel - APPROACH, AS WELL AS TO THE USEFULNESS OF REMOTE SENSING PRODUCTS AND lite-based services providing relevant the southern and south-eastern slopes SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS. IT ALSO YIELDED POSITIVE LESSONS FOR FUTURE TRAINING information and decision-support tools of the Troodos Mountains, the scenario CURRICULA. for the organisation and distribution of simulated blocked roads because of humanitarian relief and reconstruction. landslides, with some individual villag- Another objective is to test and dem - es and dwellings affected. The scenario In recent years natural disasters, indus- onstrate possibilities for collaboration also included ‘unconfirmed reports’ of trial accidents and civil wars, seem to between the European Commission and damage to one of the biggest dams in EU Member States in crisis response ac- Cyprus, the Asprokremnos dam, 15 km more international humanitarian relief tivities, in synergy with LIMES services. south-east of Paphos. support. To secure the success of such In the AMC, the LIMES team prepared support missions, well-trained disaster technical support actions and provided Due to the events, the Government of management staff is needed. navigation, satellite communications the Republic of Cyprus (GoC) declared The LIMES project (Land/Sea a simulated State of Emergency. As In response, the EU has developed Integrated Monitoring for European LIMES supported and accompanied the part of the Ministry of Interior, Cyprus the Community Mechanism for Civil Security) will contribute to the AMC activities in Cyprus, in the field and Civil Defence (CCD) acted as the local Protection. Its aim is to support coop- GMES initiative until 2010 by pro- emergency management agency op- eration in Civil Protection assistance and viding core competence in Security for Technical Relief (THW), the Johanniter interventions in the event of major emer - services. The goal is to define and develop prototype information actions. The Community Mechanism services to support security man- for Civil Protection has developed a agement at EU and global levels. number of tools to facilitate both pre- Key aspects are the organisation paredness and effective response to and distribution of humanitarian disasters at an EU level. An important aid and reconstruction; surveillance part of the mechanism consists of com- of the EU borders (land and sea); mon training and seminars for relief surveillance and protection of mari- units from all over Europe. One-week time transport for sensitive cargo; “Assessment Mission Courses” (AMC) and, protection against emerging are part of this mechanism which has security threats (e.g. terrorism, ille- been fostering international coopera- gal trafficking and proliferation of tion in Civil Protection across the EU weapons of mass destruction). since 2002. The exercise was based on a simulated earth- The training scenario also included ‘unconfirmed For further information please visit quake in the eastern Mediterranean Sea with a reports’ of damage to one of the biggest dams The AMC has been identified as http://www.fp6-limes.eu/ tsunami-like tidal wave hitting the southern coast in Cyprus, the Asprokremnos dam, 15 km south- an appropriate framework for the of Cyprus (Credits: Willis Davison). east of Paphos (Credits: Paul Taylor). W INDOW ON GMES W INDOW ON GMES 56 57
Mayor’s Offices of the major cities The major mission of the assessment (simulated) request for international THW to react quickly and provide emergency humanitarian relief in case of Headquarters under the authority of the Success Stories Organisations responsible for the Cyprus Assessment Mission Course The German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) is the op- erative civil protection organisation of the Federal Government of Germany. THW provides technical assistance both within Germany and abroad. Nationwide, more than 80,000 citizens volunteer in these activities at 668 local THW sections. THW offers a wide range of services, from acute emergency aid to long-term partnerships for civil reconstruction. Its “Rapid Deployment Units” enable the crisis. The Johanniter International Assistance (Johanniter- Unfall-Hilfe (JUH) consists of 200 national, regional, and local associations throughout the Federal Republic of Germany. It is a professional association of “Diakonisches Werk” of the “Evangelical Church of Germany” (EKD), and it is recognised as a voluntary relief organisation for charitable and non-profit purposes. Building on the national medical expertise of JUH, Johanniter’s international assistance concentrates on providing basic This overview map shows the simulated spread of the tsunami-like tidal wave and the affected regions in the southern part of Cyprus (Credits: LIMES project, DLR/ZKI). medical care to people living in disaster areas and in particularly disadvantaged regions of the world. In the event of a disaster, Johanniter can mobilise and coordinate a number of experienced full-time and volunteer members. After the Cypriot government sent a introduction to the most important information about Cyprus and the ex- assistance to the European Union, the ercise itself. After the scenario started, The main mission of Cyprus Civil Defence is the performance European Commission activated the the LIMES consortium trialled, jointly of various humanitarian tasks intended to protect the civilian Community Mechanism and delegated with the AMC team, their communica- population and help it recover from the immediate effects of an EU Assessment Team consisting of tion and analysis capacities. hostilities or disaster as well as to provide the conditions neces- experts from Member States. sary for survival. The Civil Defence Force is organised by the establishment of civil defence units The training course started with the teams was to arrange appointments in almost all the urban areas and all the villages near the ceasefire line. Most of arrival of the participants and an with key organisations in the disaster the units consist of conscripts and volunteers. Civil Defence members receive area and to gather information about initial training and are further trained and positioned in different divisions of Civil the impact of the disaster on infra- Defence, for example the Sections of First Aid, Telecommunications, Welfare, structure and on people. The course Fire Fighting, Rescue and the Neighbourhood Watch Sections. participants were therefore divided into three groups taking charge of evaluat- ing the situation in different regions and organisations. in the southern outskirts of Lefkosia and from several Civil Defence District conducted preliminary evaluations of af- Support from the LIMES team fected buildings and infrastructure. Teams During the exercise, the LIMES team respective District Officers. from the Ministry of Communication and played a supportive role in rapid Works were mobilised to restore essential situation assessment. It provided Assessment teams of Cyprus Civil infrastructure (water supply, communica- products for communication and navi- Briefing in the field using one of the satellite- Defence, the District Officers and the tion, roads, airports etc.). gation and demonstrated the benefit of based maps (Credits: DLR). W INDOW ON GMES W INDOW ON GMES 58 59
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