BAHRAIN has launched a new online platform to educate and prepare citizens and residents for emergencies.
The National Civil Protection Platform (www.ncpp.gov.bh) that aims to ‘enhance awareness of the community and reinforce civil protection and general safety’ was launched yesterday by Interior Minister General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa.
He said the new portal would allow people in Bahrain to access information that concerns their safety, in a modern way, and work to enhance the security culture in society by employing advanced technologies.
The website, in both English and Arabic, covers a wide range of topics such as how to prepare for catastrophes, evacuations and steps to seek shelter, besides protocols to follow when sirens are heard. It also lists emergency supplies and highlights the importance of financial readiness and insurance coverage.
The minister yesterday visited the Civil Defence Directorate to appreciate its role in protecting lives and properties, and reinforcing the general safety of citizens and residents. He asserted the importance of reviewing procedures periodically and moving forward in reinforcing precautionary measures for civil protection and evaluating preparedness in dealing with potential risks.
Gen Shaikh Rashid, who is also Civil Defence Council chairman, inspected the new civil defence fleet capable of ensuring swift response and professionalism.
“This is an interactive platform that aims to educate and raise civil protection awareness of the community,” Gen Shaikh Rashid said.
“It is the platform’s first phase, and would be developed continuously,” he added.
The portal adopts “a basic methodology for creating a safe environment against risks” through concerted and integrated efforts, “based on awareness of all risks and how to prevent them”.
It has a special section entitled Civil Contingencies, which gives a series of instructions on how to act or prepare for major accidents, such as radiological, chemical or biological events, fires and even natural disasters such as hurricanes and high winds, earthquake, sea level rise and heavy rain.
In addition, it lays out details of a ‘safe room’ specification in every home where the family can take shelter in case of an emergency. The room on the ground floor should be in the middle of the house with easy access and have enough space to store food and materials, while windows should have fire-resistant glass and metal frames with edges tightly sealed, the portal said.
It also has a section entitled Shelters and Reception Centres, which is yet to be updated.
Other procedures for the public listed on the website include: saving money for emergencies, securing important documents and downloading electronic copies, having a basic emergency kit in a plastic box or a duffel bag, a battery operated radio, extra batteries, wet wipes, canned food and plastic covers or tape for securing.
Furthermore, the advisory urges the public to stock baby food, diapers and other supplies including female hygiene items and medicines such as pain killers, antacids and anti-diarrhoeal drug for any emergency.
The strategic objective of the new roadmap for emergency preparedness is to educate the public, including the private sector, about a unified protocol of risk mitigation programmes.
Meanwhile, Gen Shaikh Rashid announced the launch of the Volunteering Project for the Civil Defence to promote community partnership.
The project aims to prepare volunteers and enhance safety and awareness in society.
Volunteers are selected according to specific requirements and classified into two categories: general volunteers and specialised volunteers, who will be trained to integrate into work gradually.
The portal has been launched a day after the Interior Ministry trialled its emergency response system by sending test messages to citizens and residents across the country.
The GDN yesterday reported that a number of readers confirmed receiving the message, which read ‘Experimental text messages for emergency cases’ in Arabic, English, Hindi and Urdu.
sandy@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))