Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Governor of the Kamchatka Territory Alexei Kuzmitsky, head of the Far Eastern Department of the Federal Agency for State Reserves Alexander Savchenko and head of the Far Eastern Centre of the Emergencies Ministry Yury Naryshkin
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: The governor and I have just discussed a number of vital issues for the Kamchatka Territory, including seismic resistance: The preparation of a relevant programme and its subsequent implementation. But back in 2009 I asked the Federal Agency for State Reserves and the Emergencies Ministry to provide the delivery and storage of materials that might be needed in resolving issues linked to seismic activity. Today I'd like to hear what has been done. Please, go ahead.
Alexander Savchenko: Mr Putin, we have done the following to fulfill your instructions of July 15 of last year on establishing the infrastructure and restoring the airfield.
In coordination with all agencies, including the Emergencies Ministry and the local agencies, we first held a conference to determine what was needed. We received directives to supply the state reserves of Kamchatka and Sakhalin with 5,000 tons of jet fuel, 5,340 airfield plates and 85 tonnes of bitumen-polymer blends.
As of August 23, we supplied 100% of fuel, 32% of airfield plates and 100% of blends. As for the remaining 68% of plates, some of them are on their way, while some are still being manufactured. According to the schedule, we are supposed to deliver them by the end of the year but we think we will be able to do that in November.
Plates and other materials are located on the airfields of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Kamchatka. I inquired about Kamchatka yesterday and visited plate storage sites. They are here in the port. To sum up, we are fulfilling your instructions consistently. Your Deputy, Sergei Ivanov, is across their implementation and we report back to him on a regular basis. I don't see any problem with their execution.
Vladimir Putin: Okay. Is anything else needed so we can face any situation that arises with confidence? What does the Emergencies Ministry think?
Yury Naryshkin: Mr Putin, our ministry has reviewed the initiative, put forward by the governors of the Kamchatka Territory and the Sakhalin Region, to set up depots for stockpiling reserves of items that are needed, first of all, for disaster relief and tackling the aftermath of major emergencies.
This is a seismically active region. According to a forecast by the Russian Academy of Sciences, a major earthquake (over 8 on the Richter scale) is likely to take place here once every 50 years. About 65% of the population will require urgent life support.
In addition to the reserve supplies Kamchatka and Sakhalin are stockpiling in line with Law No. 68 of 1994, Resolution No. 794 on the integrated federal system for emergency warnings and disaster relief and Resolution No. 1340 of 1996 on the formation, use and storage of reserve supplies, as of today, they have already stored 80% of the reserves.
But this is not enough. This is a very complicated issue and there are no roads or railways in the region. They can only use planes and ships. This is why we believe it makes sense to build additional depots to store aid that people will need in the first few hours of an emergency. Everything these depots contain should be modern and innovative, including pre-fabricated housing, not just tents, engineering hardware and all the necessary equipment to secure water supplies and provide diverse assistance to those who need it.
The ministry has agreed on this. Now we are working on the range of items to be stored in these depots. We will discuss with the Federal Agency for State Reserves what new equipment has been developed in order to include it in these reserves and we support this initiative.
Vladimir Putin: Mr Kyzmitsky, do you have anything to add?
Alexei Kuzmitsky: Yes I do, Mr Putin. I'd like to report back on the formation of our regional emergency stockpiles. For the first time we have established a reserve for the Kamchatka Territory worth 230 million roubles. It contains life support systems, essentials and mobile electricity generation facilities - one per 15,000 affected. The Emergencies Ministry praised us for it. As noted here, we have enough for the time being. In general, our emergency supply reserve in the Kamchatka Territory is one of the best in Russia. This is an objective fact.
Vladimir Putin: Okay. If you think that you don't have enough in this reserve, submit your proposals to us and we'll deal with this.
Alexei Kuzmitsky: Will do.
