Cyprus has received an International Search and Rescue Advisory Group certificate of endorsement for earthquake response, Civil Defence spokesperson Olivia Michaelidou has told CNA.
The certificate was granted by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) she said.
She explained that it has to do with the “Republic of Cyprus’ ability to deal with a big, catastrophic earthquake in Cyprus on the basis of international standards.”
UN OCHA experts have been in Cyprus since June 14 in order to evaluate the national earthquake response system, she said. In the context of their visit they had meetings with relevant agencies and observed a search and rescue exercise on Saturday to see whether INSARAG guidelines are being followed.
The accreditation, Michaelidou noted, is very important for Cyprus since a small number of countries internationally have managed to receive it. She added that it was the result of “painstaking and hard preparation.”
“The certificate of endorsement by UN OCHA and automatically also by the EU constitutes proof of our state’s capabilities,” she said, expressing the Civil Defence’s pride for this achievement.
Source: Cyprus News Agency