MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman accords great attention to the emergency management system that handles any disasters and emergencies in accordance with a unified system and mechanisms to enhance and coordinate integrated efforts between the relevant authorities.
The emergency management system consists of the main committee for emergency management, the national center, sub-committees in the governorates, emergency committees in the wilayats as well as supporting sectors.
Col Zayed bin Hamad al Junaibi, Head of the National Centre for Emergency Management, said in an interview with Oman daily: “The National Center for Emergency Management is the executive body of the National Committee for Emergency Management. The Centre directs, coordinates and follows up on the preparedness efforts, response and urgent rehabilitation during emergencies as well as provides requisite support and assistance to the sectors and sub-committees under the supervision of the Inspector General of Police and Customs, Chairman of the National Committee for Emergency Management.”
Al Junaibi noted that the wise government pays great attention and support to the national system for emergency management which has enabled it to successfully deal with extreme weather conditions that occurred over the past years and mitigate their human and material impacts thanks to the coordination and integration between all components of the emergency management system.
The National Emergency Management Committee deals with emergencies that require the unification of national capabilities especially extreme weather conditions, earthquakes, tremors, flash floods, tsunamis, hazardous leaks and spills including chemical, radioactive, biological spills, major transportation incidents in air, sea and land, major fires, oil spills and environmental pollution, epidemics and any other incidents the impact the public safety and require a major-scale response.
In order to improve the quality of work and achieve rapid response and optimal handling of all sorts of occurrences, the subcommittees of the National Emergency Management Committee operate in all governorates. The supporting sectors include the Medical Response and Public Health Sector, Basic Services Sector, Relief and Shelter Sector, Hazardous Materials Sector, Search and Rescue Sector, and the Media and Public Awareness Sector all of which function in coordination with the National Emergency Management Centre, he said.
The National Emergency Management Center strives to achieve the highest levels of coordination and integration between all parties and sectors concerned with crisis management.
When any when disaster looms such a tropical storm making its way towards Oman, the National Emergency Management Committee holds an extraordinary meeting under the chairmanship of the Inspector General of Police and Customs, Chairman of the Committee, to listen to a briefing from the specialists of the Civil Aviation Authority (National Multi Hazard Early Warning Centre) on the updates based on the numerical predictions of the weather condition and its potential impacts.
Accordingly, the National Emergency Management Centre and subcommittees in the governorates in the affected governorate are activated and the readiness level is raised to deal with the emergency in all its stages, the official concluded.
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