EMERCOM: COOPERATION IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 000078 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREL SENV RS SUBJECT: EMERCOM: COOPERATION IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) The Russian Ministry for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Natural Disasters (EMERCOM) and a U.S. delegation led by R. David Paulison, FEMA Administrator, met in St. Petersburg December 3-7. The purpose of the meeting, the twelfth in a series, was to review bilateral cooperation in emergency management. EMERCOM and FEMA have some similarities, but there are significant differences in their capabilities and structure. Relations between EMERCOM and U.S. counterparts have been, and remain, productive. End Summary. EMERCOM Background -------------- ¶2. (SBU) One of only five ministries reporting directly to President Putin, EMERCOM is often referred to as "Russia's FEMA," although its mission is much broader. EMERCOM - known in Russian as the Ministry for Extraordinary Situations (MCHS) - was established on January 10, 1994. It was preceded by the Russian Rescue Corps, which had existed since December 1990 and an interim organization, the Emergency and Civil Defense State Committee. The head of EMERCOM is Sergey Shoigu, an engineer, who has been granted the rank of General of the Army. Shoigu's tenure dates to 1991, when he was appointed head of the Russian Rescue Corps. He is the longest serving minister in the Russian government, popular with the public and a prominent figure in the United Russia party. Some of EMERCOM's missions correspond to those of FEMA, the USAID/OFDA (Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance) and the disaster relief/assistance missions of the US National Guard and Coast Guard. The 12th U.S. - Russian Meeting -------------- ¶3. (SBU) As part of a continuing series of Joint Committee meetings, from December 3-7, 2007, representatives from EMERCOM, FEMA, USEUCOM, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Iowa National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Consulate St. Petersburg, USAID and Embassy Moscow met in St. Petersburg to review the past year's work plan, to agree on the 2008-2009 Work Plan and to sign the Protocol of the 12th meeting of the Joint U.S. - Russian Committee on Cooperation in Emergency Management. The resulting Protocol and approved Work Plan encompass five Region-to-Region cooperation events, 23 Training and Exercise events, nine Scientific Workshops, Conferences and Exhibitions, and discussions of Joint Humanitarian Projects in third countries. First Deputy Minister Ruslan Tsalikov headed the Russian delegation. FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison headed the U.S. delegation. Both delegations delivered presentations on firefighting and training exercises. Administrator Paulison commented that there is an opportunity to share technologies in the arena of fighting large wild fires. Tsalikov replied that the Russians are looking to unify international fire-fighting assets in Europe based on the requirement demonstrated by the August 2007 wildfires in Greece. Tsalikov advocated increased coordination and training events between the U.S. and Russian organizations. Paulison agreed that sharing techniques would result in better capability for both sides. Big Difference from FEMA - The Military Component -------------- -------------- ¶4. (U) EMERCOM has 23,000 military personnel in its civil protection force. They represent the backbone of the MCHS. These forces consist of rescue brigades, mechanized civil protection regiments and battalions, special protection companies and detached helicopter squadrons. They are outfitted with specialized equipment for engineering, medical, radiation and chemical and biological protection missions. In peacetime they function within the framework of the Unified Emergency Situations Prevention and Response State System (UEPRSS). In wartime, they are under control of the Civil Protection System. EMERCOM: Radiological Response -------------- ¶5. (U) Another facet of EMERCOM that differs from FEMA is its clinic system for radiological response issues. The Nikiforov Center of Emergency and Radiation Medicine (NRCERM) is specifically designed to handle the aftermath of radioactive exposure to EMERCOM personnel. Director Sergey Aleksanin described the capabilities of the existing facility and stated that another clinic would open in 2010 to enhance EMERCOM's capabilities. He also said that one of the trends in collaboration with the U.S. and others has been the response to the medical aspects of radiation and bio-chemical terrorism. Referring to a radiological response scenario, he said MOSCOW 00000078 002 OF 002 that his greatest concern wasn't EMERCOM's ability to respond, rather that the "public reaction" to such an event was unpredictable. He said the NRCERM maintains a complete register of specialists for all EMERCOM regions to be able to respond quickly and appropriately. EMERCOM Command and Control -------------- ¶6. (SBU) EMERCOM's Crisis Management Center (CMC) provides continuous management of all forces and assets allocated for disaster prevention and response. The Northwest Regional CMC, in St. Petersburg, is a modern, 24-hour operation. General Shamsutdin Dagirov demonstrated the center's capabilities, in real time, to monitor the situation in major malls, train stations and other public areas via cameras. Flat screen monitors in public areas have the ability to display messages or video. They normally display public service messages, but EMERCOM officers in the CMC can quickly change them to give safety instructions should there be an incident such as fire or public disturbance. When asked if EMERCOM could extend this system to areas such as the Metro, General Dagirov stated that the Metro had its own system for surveillance. However, there are plans to extend EMERCOM's coverage to other above-ground locations. International Operations -------------- ¶7. (SBU) EMERCOM took part in the international humanitarian operation that brought relief to tsunami victims in South-East Asia from January - April 2005. EMERCOM also contributed to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, by their count delivering over 60 tons of humanitarian aid via three sorties of Il-76TD heavy transport aircraft. As of December 2007, Tsalikov said that EMERCOM had signed 54 inter-governmental and international cooperation agreements for emergency humanitarian response. Administrator Paulison and First Deputy Minster Tsalikov also discussed future cooperative efforts to include table-top exercises, meetings of experts and joint efforts to study oil spill clean-ups in ice/snow conditions. Burns