Comparing the maps showing general tsunami hazard and nuclear hazard for the European countries produced by the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) we may conclude that the risk of a domino effect tsunami-nuclear accident is very low in the Mediterranean.

As no nuclear power plant is installed in the PPRD South Partner Countries and as existing nuclear power plants in Italy were shut down more than 20 years ago, the only active nuclear power plant built on the Mediterranean coastline is located on the Spanish Catalonian coast which lies on a low tsunami hazard area.

The European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) 2006 worked from 2002 to 2006 to the preparation of studies on different topics related to spatial development and territorial policies. The ESPON project “Spatial effects and management of natural and technological hazards in general and in relation to climate change" focused on the characterization of hazards as well as on the definition of the risk profile for the EU territories in view to allow a better understanding and management of risks to facilitate targeted responses and policies.

The situation changes drastically if we consider a domino effect tsunami-chemical accident.

The UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan indicates that more than 200 petrochemical and energy installations, chemical industries and chlorine plants stocking and handling dangerous substances are located along the Mediterranean coast.

Industrial facilities located in coastal areas subject to tsunami hazards may be at risk of tsunami impact and damage and, if they use hazardous materials, these can be accidentally released and dispersed into the environment.

According to the European Commission Joint Research Centre study “Assessment of Tsunami Risk to an Oil Refinery in southern Italy”, the oil refinery fires triggered by the 1964 Niigata earthquake and tsunami in Japan serve as an example of the potentially catastrophic effects of a tsunami when it affects a highly industrialized and urbanized area.

During this event, a 4 m tsunami was triggered by the 7.5 magnitude earthquake which initially caused fires in five storage tanks and oil spills in hundreds more at two oil refineries in Niigata. The tsunami hit the already earthquake stricken facility resulting in:

additional damage to storage tanks and plant processing equipment by collision with tsunami-driven objects and by the hydrodynamic forces of the tsunami, the spread of leaked oil by the tsunami current into the harbor and on inundated land, the spread of burning crude oil carried by the flood waters causing the fires to extend to other parts of the plant, the spread of ignited crude oil carried by the flood waters into residential areas and the destruction of 286 houses by the fire.

The European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) 2006 project produced maps of the European Mediterranean coast showing major accident hazard involving harmful substances and oil as technological hazard for the European countries. Comparing these maps with the ESPON general tsunami hazard map we can see how many European Mediterranean coastal areas are exposed to both tsunami and chemical hazards.

  

 

 

To prevent chemical accidents, it is necessary to identify and understand the hazards associated with the chemical substances and their processes as well as the potential scenarios which may lead to an accident – indicates the recent UNEP Guidance Document “A Flexible Framework for Addressing Chemical Accident Prevention and Preparedness”. These scenarios include the effects of extreme weather conditions or seismic events - earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption.

The impact of extreme weather conditions or seismic events – the document says - on chemical installations can damage the plant construction or lead to a break down in the supply of energy or utilities. This may in turn lead to chemical accidents. Proposed prevention mechanisms include careful assessment of the siting of hazardous installations which should take account of local natural features (rivers which may flood, steep slopes prone to avalanche or mud slide, coastal plains exposed to tsunami risk). The construction of installations should also take account of the possible natural hazards and the expected weather conditions in the geographical region, including extremes. Provisions should be made for shutting down the installation in an emergency due to extreme natural conditions.

This Guidance document was developed by a group of international experts, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (UNEP-DTIE), as part of its work pursuant to the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) adopted in February 2006.

The aim of SAICM is to “achieve by 2020, the use and production of chemicals in ways that lead to the minimisation of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment.” One of the identified work areas of SAICM is “formulation of prevention and response measures to mitigate the environmental and health impacts of emergencies involving chemicals.”

High level decision makers from the countries participating to the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe met in Ankara on 22 July 2010 in the occasion of a coordination meeting in the framework of the project Harmonization of Seismic Hazards Maps for the Western Balkan Countries.

The meeting had the objective of further bringing forward the preparation of new seismic hazard maps for the Western Balkan region using modern scientific methodologies that will ensure harmonization among the countries of the region as well as with the European seismic zoning standards specified in the so called Eurocode 8.

The Eurocodes are a set of European structural design codes for building and civil engineering works. Conceived and developed over the past 30 years with the combined expertise of the member states of the European Union, they are arguably the most advanced structural codes in the world. The Eurocodes are intended to be mandatory for European public works and likely to become the de-facto standard for the private sector – both in Europe and world-wide. Eurocode 8 explains how to make building and civil engineering structures resistant to earthquakes.

The Meeting was chaired by Mr. Mehmet ERSOY, Director-General of the Turkish Disasters and Emergency Management Presidency (DEMP) and was attended by Mr. Samir AGIC Deputy Minister of Security, Protection and Rescue of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prof. Sali KELMENDI Director-General of the Planning and Coordination Department of the Albanian Ministry of Interior, Mr. Trajko TODORCEVSKI Chief Supervisor responsible for disasters of the Ministry of Interior of Macedonia, Mr. Orhan TOPCU Head of the Secretariat of the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, Mr. I. Ejder KAYA Head of Planning and Mitigation Department of DEMP, Prof. Dr. Mr. Sinan AKKAR from METU Construction Engineering Department and Prof. Dr. Atilla ANSA from Bogazici University Earthquake Engineering Department.

The project Harmonization of Seismic Hazards Maps for the Western Balkan Countries was launched in 2007 in the framework of the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe with the support of the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme. The main objective of the project is to prepare the ground for joint preparedness and prevention activities in disaster management among the countries of the region. The process of harmonization of the earthquake terminology and of the seismic risk maps will allow to improve scientific collaboration between the project partners and to enhance  cooperation and coordination in the field of seismic hazard management.

The project is implemented by the national institutions and/or the organizations that are responsible for disaster management and seismic risk reduction in the participating countries: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania and Turkey.

Project web site: http://www.wbseismicmaps.org/Home.htm

The Cairo based World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean published in 2007 the WHO e-Atlas of disaster risk for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Volume 1: Exposure to natural hazards. The e-Atlas uses geographic information systems and various disaster models to assist disaster management decision-makers, particularly those in the countries of this Region regularly experiencing disasters, to reduce health risks to vulnerable populations due to emergencies and health crises.

The EC funded CIRCE project - Climate Change Impacts and Research: the Mediterranean Environment - aims at developing an integrated assessment of the climate change impacts in the Mediterranean area.

This technical report on water scarcity and drought management in the Mediterranean and the Water Framework Directive was prepared by the Mediterranean Water Scarcity and Drought (WS&D) Working Group in the framework of the MED-EU Water Initiative / Water Framework Directive (WFD) Joint Process.

The PPRD South mission to Algeria last October allowed to better understand the organization and the operational capacities of the Algerian Civil Protection, and in particular the remarkable presence of women and their roles. Nowadays 702 women officers work in the Algerian Civil Protection.