PM Ciuca to instruct emergency management to set up heatwave task force

Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has asked the Emergency Management Department (DSU) to set up a task force to monitor the effects of the scorching high temperatures expected for the next days starting on Thursday."I have discussed with an official of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology and the forecasts for the period immediately ahead show very high temperatures, which is why I will instruct the Emergency Management Department (DSU) to operate at the level of the National Centre for Response Coordination and Management a task force to monitor the effects of very high temperatures starting tomorrow," Ciuca said on Wednesday at the beginning of a government meeting.He also announced that the National Emergency Management Committee (CNSU) will convene in a meeting the same day to adopt a raft of measures to counteract the effects of high temperatures."Today, the National Emergency Management Committee (CNSU) will convene, a committee that will draw up a decision under which a raft of measures for both monitoring and preventing the effects of high temperatures for all county emergency management committees and, of course, all government bodies," added Ciuca.He said that DSU will coordinate the activity at national level and, together with the relevant ministries, will take additional measures to inform the public."We will take coordination measures with non-governmental and volunteer organisations to identify vulnerable people and establish measures to support them. Please have an information package for the Ministry of Health so that the public may get aware of the effects, and of course, the aid centres to be set up under a CNSU decision and as a result of the decisions that will be taken at the level of local administrations. At the same time, the government will operate an information platform with data and information, as well as forecasts, so that we can have all the preventive measures taken and, of course, all the operative equipment ready when needed," said Ciuca.He added that, following a discussion he had with the head of DSU on Wednesday morning, the measures envisaged are in preparation."We also discussed that, when required, the ministries involved, including the Ministry of National Defence, should be able to come and respond in support, and the monitoring and decision task force will operate permanently as long as it is required at the CNCCI level."Ciuca also said that the first meeting of an inter-ministerial committee coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture to monitor the effects of the drought took place on Tuesday."Yesterday, we held the first meeting of the inter-ministerial committee analysing and monitoring the effects of the drought and we agreed that at the government level we should continue to have continuous monitoring and information, an activity that will take place in weekly meetings and weekly reports. There will also be reporting by the Ministry of Agriculture, which is also the coordinator of this inter-ministerial committee, on everything that means information related to the affected areas, the most affected regions, crops, estimates and, of course, the measures to be taken in order to be able to diminish the effects of the drought," said Ciuca.