Learning how to live with natural hazards

EARTHQUAKES, floods and fires, are the main natural hazards that European countries around the Mediterranean basin have to contend with, according to Luís Ibáñez, the director general for Interior Affairs, yesterday in Valencia. He explained this during the opening of a meeting of regional representatives who are participating in the European Project on combatting Natural Risks in the Mediterranean Area (Rinamed). In the same meeting, it was established as an aim of the project that people should know how to live in a normal way alongside these risks.
He announced that the representatives of Andalucía, Murcia, the Balearics, Catalonia, Valencia, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, Alpes, Côte d´Azur, Calabria, Liguria, Lombardy and Piamonte, would be sharing their experiences and information on the natural catastrophes and the means of their prevention.
HAZARDS
The technical consultant of the Ministry of Justice, Mercé Tullent explained that the meeting in Valencia, which would continue today, is the second that the members of Rinamed have held and highlighted the “necessity” of making people aware of the existence of natural hazards and making training available so that they know how to behave when confronted with such a situation. “The perception of risk varies a great deal”, she pointed out and gave as an example the fact that “in the Community of Valencia the perception of risk of earthquake is very low because there hasn't been a significant earthquake there for many years, but it's a risk that cannot be ignored. Trullent declared that “in spite of the fact that society is more concerned with the risk of flooding, people are still surprised when occasionally someone dies trying to drive a car across a riverbank.” With this in mind, José María Torner, the section head of Territorial Analysis of the Ministry of Public Works (COPUT), pointed to the work being undertaken as part of a territorial plan of action entitled Prevention of Risk of Flooding in the Community of Valencia. For his part, Jaume Guamis, responsible for information on natural hazards in Catalunya, explained “there are natural risks common to all countries in the Mediterranean area” and added that it is foreseen that Project Rinamed will be extended to encompass the region of Magreb (North Africa).
TREMORS
Many people were alarmed when earth tremors were felt in the Balearics on May 21.
The police received a flood of calls but nobody was injured. However, some boats were damaged.
Earth tremors are not unusual in the Balearics, but few have shaken the entire region, and they are not usually so strong.