Crisis management should be institutionalized: Majlis Speaker
In an address during the opening ceremony of the Third International Congress on Health, Treatment, and Management in Emergency Situations, he stated that crisis management is one of the most difficult responsibilities to fulfill.
He went on to say that physicians, the Army, and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corpse (IRGC) should each use all their capabilities and facilities to respond to the crisis when a natural disaster occurs.
Therefore, all relevant organizations should coordinate with each other in order to be able to produce the best results in the worst situation, he added.
The Majlis speaker also said that the difficult task of crisis management provides a good example of interdisciplinary action in the modern world.
90% of Iranians live in disaster-prone areas
Meanwhile, IRGC Commander Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi told participants of the congress that 33 types of natural disaster occur in Iran and 90 percent of Iranians live in disaster-prone areas.
He warned of the long-overdue serious earthquake that has been forecast for Tehran, saying that relevant organizations should be fully prepared to deal with it whenever it happens.
Safavi noted that Iran is located on about 100 fault lines, twelve of which are known to be in the Tehran area.
He pointed out that Tehran, East Azarbaijan, Khorasan, Kerman, and Fars provinces are especially prone to earthquakes, so proper planning is essential for those areas.
100,000 Iranians have died due to natural disasters over past decade
Health Minister Kamran Baqeri Lankarani told the congress that some 100,000 Iranians have lost their lives due to natural disasters over the past decade.
Iran is one of the ten most disaster-prone countries in the world, he stated.
Comparing the two major earthquakes of Bam (Kerman Province) and Lorestan Province, Lankarani noted that casualties were considerably lower in the Lorestan earthquake than Bam due to the crisis management experiences gained during the devastating Bam quake.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Lankarani said that psychological therapy is one of the most important issues that need to be focused on in crisis management.
Traumatized people who have lost family members in a natural disaster are more likely to suffer psychological problems, which should not be forgotten, and survivors should be provided psychological therapy, he added.
In conclusion, he said that Iran experiences 33 of the 43 types of natural disaster that occur in the world.