Damascus-SANA
The Council of Ministers approved an executive action plan to manage and organize relief operations in the governorates (Aleppo, Lattakia, Hama and Tartous), in light of the directives issued by the Council of Ministers session held yesterday under the chairmanship of President Bashar al-Assad to follow up on the effects of the devastating earthquake that struck Syria on Monday 6-2-2023. .
During its session today, headed by Eng. Hussein Arnous, Chairman of the Council, the Council allocated 50 billion Syrian pounds as an initial amount to finance the emergency operations taken to deal with the effects of the devastating earthquake.
The Council decided to limit the distribution of aid provided to the areas affected by the earthquake to one side, and to distribute it according to the needs of each of them, and to continue monitoring and counting the numbers of victims and those affected, and to speed up technical inspections of infrastructure, buildings and schools, in addition to assigning each ministry to limit the damage within its sector.
Engineer Arnous explained that the plan includes the initial assessment of the earthquake's repercussions, and the preparation of preliminary databases on the number of buildings that fell and the damaged infrastructure in the context of planning to deal with these damages according to the priorities and available capabilities.
The Council decided to assign the governors to follow up the work of the construction safety committees and to identify the buildings that are likely to fall in each governorate, and not to return the residents to these buildings before inspecting them, while securing appropriate shelters and providing them with the necessary assistance.
The Higher Committee for Relief was assigned to follow up on the relief file, whether at the central level or at the level of sub-committees for relief in the governorates.
He instructed the State Planning Commission to coordinate with all concerned authorities to prepare a constantly updated report on the damage caused by the earthquake in all sectors in the affected governorates, in coordination with the governors and the concerned committees.
He instructed the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment to follow up on providing all necessary supplies and assistance to the injured and affected by the earthquake, including foodstuffs, shelters, and others, as quickly as possible, according to priorities and to the maximum available capabilities.
Engineer Arnous emphasized the provision of all necessary facilities in the ports and airports for any assistance provided to the affected areas.
To ensure the speedy arrival of this aid to the affected areas in a systematic, planned and deliberate manner, and according to the need in each region.
Engineer Arnous pointed out that from the first moment of the earthquake, a central operations room was formed in the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, with the participation of the Minister of Local Administration and the Higher Committee for Relief, and operations began to rescue the wounded and ambulances in the first place, and to provide medical personnel with the necessary supplies for families who had to leave their homes and secure temporary shelters. For them, in addition to securing fuel to operate the mechanisms used to remove the rubble of demolished houses, then developing several scenarios and defining the tasks of each government agency, especially the service ones, and coordinating between them for rapid response with rescue operations and providing support in all its forms.
The Prime Minister referred to the efforts made by the civil society, the private sector, popular organizations and the media to contribute to responding to the requirements of dealing with the effects of the devastating earthquake and to the role of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
The Cabinet also discussed a number of important service and economic issues that contribute to the proper management of the oil derivatives sector, in a way that meets the requirements of the industrial and agricultural production process.
