As part of his official visit to Serbia, Kamal Kishore, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, visited Kragujevac today, where he met with Mayor Nikola Dašić, President of the City Assembly Ivica Momčilović, and Deputy Mayor Dejan Ružić to discuss the role of our city as a regional centre for prevention, emergency management and climate change adaptation.
The high-level United Nations delegation, which also included UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia Matilda Morte and Natalia Alonso Cano, Director of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, attended a ceremonial session of the City Emergency Management Headquarters and a rescue demonstration exercise, during which local capacities and preventive measures for protection against natural disasters were presented.
Recalling that Kragujevac began to address this issue more seriously around 20 years ago, when the city experienced major floods, Mayor Nikola Dašić stressed that the City continuously invests in raising the level of preparedness and training of all services, and that its Emergency Management Sector is now one of the most elite, qualified not only to protect Šumadija, but also to provide assistance to many others, both in Serbia and abroad.
Due to climate change, Dašić noted, the situation is changing from year to year. We are not at risk of major rivers overflowing, but there are landslides, fires and other recurring situations. Thanks to thorough preparations, teams regularly conduct risk assessments, we have comprehensive planning documentation, and the city services, headed by the Emergency Management Headquarters, are ready to respond to every challenge, Dašić said, adding that cooperation with the United Nations is valuable because it enables a two-way exchange of knowledge and experience.
Serbia has an impressive protection and rescue system that is well integrated at both the vertical and horizontal levels, with strong government support for disaster prevention and response, said Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction. As for Kragujevac, he added that he was particularly impressed by the demonstration exercise, in which they witnessed an exceptionally well-trained and perfectly coordinated operation involving firefighters, emergency medical services and all the other services that took part.
Kishore particularly praised Kragujevac’s proactive approach, stressing the importance of the preventive documents and plans adopted by the City in order to anticipate problems that may be caused by landslides, hail and heatwaves. Kragujevac is part of the United Nations global initiative “Making Cities Resilient by 2030” and is one of the best examples that can serve as an inspiration not only to other cities in Serbia, but around the world, Kishore said.
Emphasizing the importance of the visit by the senior United Nations official, and noting that the previous such visit took place as many as 14 years ago, Zoran Kočović, Head of the Emergency Management Administration in Kragujevac, stressed that much had been done during this period to improve the protection and rescue system, as well as to enhance the safety of the citizens of Kragujevac and the entire Šumadija District.
A number of laws and procedures governing action in emergency situations have been adopted, while the service’s capacities have also been significantly strengthened. Our equipment is much better than it was 14 years ago, while the number of firefighters-rescuers has increased by as many as one thousand, Kočović said, adding that it is important to continue improving operations, primarily in the area of prevention, but also by further strengthening personnel, vehicles and overall capacities.
