RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Emergency Situations

The Romanian Government wants to set up an emergency response unit in case of extreme weather, after the substandard intervention of authorities in rescuing the victims of last week's plane crash.

Emergency Situations
Emergency Situations

, 30.01.2014, 12:30

The Government in Bucharest has adopted an emergency ordinance whereby setting up an emergency response unit in case of severe weather. The unit will operate under the supervision of the Interior Ministry, but will serve to liaise with other ministry departments. Following this decision, the Deputy Prime Minister for National Security will oversee emergency response operations, while State Secretary Raed Arafat will coordinate any weather-related emergencies.



Also worth mentioning is that Dr. Raed Arafat was the one who set up the Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication, in short SMURD, in the 1990s. For his remarkable feats in emergency response medical care, Arafat received important awards from the Romanian state in 2003 and 2005 respectively.



The Government’s emergency ordinance thus comes to modify the functioning and coordination of public institutions. Prime Minister Victor Ponta said this would help save time and energy with red tape. The Prime Minister said the current system was inefficient, given that the Interior Minister had to coordinate certain institutions that fall within the remit of other state ministries, such as, for instance, the Special Telecommunications Service.



The ministries, SMURD, the Emergency Situations Inspectorate as well as other institutions and authorities must all function and work under the authority of a single person, so as to ensure a more efficient response on the ground. The re-classification of responsibilities and instructions in cases of emergency follows the Prime Minister’s recent disapproval of the authorities’ intervention in last week’s plane crash in the Apuseni Mountains.



The small plane carried a group of doctors specialising in transplant surgery from Bucharest to Oradea, in the northwest. The crash site was found after seven hours of searches involving the participation of fire fighters, police officers, mountain rescue teams and locals. Despite state-of-the-art technology, the first man on site was a local, which is why the Prime Minister has labelled rescue operations a complete failure.



The plane accident also resulted in resignations and dismissals. Criticized for how his Ministry acted between the time of the crash and the hours that followed, Interior Minister Radu Stroe stepped down. In turn, the Executive Director and Operations Manager of the Romanian Air Traffic Service Administration, as well as the head of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations tendered their resignations.

European Commission (photo: © European Union - Source: EC - Audiovisual Service / Photographer: Christophe Licoppe)
Today in the News Thursday, 21 November 2024

Political agreement on the new European Commission

    The leaders of the three major political groups in the European Parliament have given the green light to the members of the next...

Political agreement on the new European Commission
Photo: aep.ro
Today in the News Thursday, 21 November 2024

13 for Romania

    In Romania, presidential elections usually spark the greatest interest and emotions. Even more so this year, when the two rounds of the...

13 for Romania
Gas consumption in the EU (Credits: magnascan-pixabay-com)
Today in the News Wednesday, 20 November 2024

Romania’s natural gas, available for trading

On Tuesday, the Romanian company Romgaz launched its first issue of bonds on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, worth 500 million EUR. Romgaz is the...

Romania’s natural gas, available for trading
Photo: roaep.ro
Today in the News Tuesday, 19 November 2024

Romania ahead of the presidential election

Next month, President Klaus Iohannis will end his second and last five-year term in office according to the Romanian Constitution. The so-called...

Romania ahead of the presidential election
Today in the News Tuesday, 19 November 2024

Romania’s Prime Minister on a visit to Brussels

NATO welcomes Romania’s continuous efforts and its significant contribution to strengthening the Alliance and Euro-Atlantic security, NATO...

Romania’s Prime Minister on a visit to Brussels
Today in the News Monday, 18 November 2024

Downward forecast from the European Commission

Romania’s economic growth estimate has been recalculated by the European Commission (EC), at a value well below the initially established...

Downward forecast from the European Commission
Today in the News Monday, 18 November 2024

35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

The fall of the Berlin Wall, 35 years ago, represented for Romanians an encouragement in their fight for freedom, and the removal of the Iron Curtain...

35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall
Today in the News Friday, 15 November 2024

European minimum wage in Romania

The law on the introduction of the European minimum wage in Romania was promulgated by President Klaus Iohannis. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has...

European minimum wage in Romania

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company