Published 21/05/2010 09:41
Edited 25/05/2010
11:13
On Friday 14th May, the Finnish Red Cross staged a preparedness exercise in south west Finland. Volunteers were trained how to help if a heavy storm hit the area – hence the name of the exercise, Myrskytuuli 2010 (Storm Wind 2010). The theoretical disaster work focused on giving first aid to victims of a traffic accident, purifying dirty water, evacuating passengers from a vessel in distress, giving them first assistance and emotional support, and finding people lost on an island in the archipelago.
The notional scenario for the exercise was that Finland had been hit by a low-pressure system, exceptionally strong for the season. Storm warnings had been issued for the seas, and the wind on land was a dangerous 30 m/s. Heavy rains were sweeping over south west Finland with seawater levels rising by up to a metre.
‘I’ve had very positive feedback both from volunteers and representatives of the authorities who took part in the exercise,’ said Tommi Virtanen, operative leader for the Myrskytuuli 2010 exercise and Preparedness Manager for the FRC Varsinais-Suomen piiri (Southwest District).
‘The volunteers were highly motivated and performed exemplarily. The authorities, too, were very pleased to have had an opportunity to test their preparedness. Naturally, the exercise revealed areas where we still need to do more work.’
‘It is obvious to us who work for the Red Cross what we should do when things are normal, but we need to think even more about how to divide the labour during a disaster,’ added Virtanen.´
Four controls were used in the exercise:
1.Bus accident training exercise with more than 70 volunteers as patients or giving first aid
On the Särkänsalmen silta bridge in Naantali, there was a simulated bus accident with 40 passengers injured in various ways. First aid groups and Red Cross international aid delegates trained for how best to assist injured passengers.
2. Evacuation and first assistance at the Viking Line terminal building
The scenario was a passenger vessel in distress at night. A Viking Line cruise ship had taken on board passengers from a smaller vessel. When they dock in the harbour, they are greeted by Red Cross first assistance volunteers.
Participants at the evacuation control were very important because the exercise is to be the basis of a model for the Finnish Red Cross to use in all harbours in an evacuation situation.Viking Line Turku Terminal Manager Lars-Gustav Hellman, says, ‘We have plans for handling situations like this, both in ports and on board, but this is the first exercise of its kind.’
3. In the archipelago, a school was evacuated and a search was conducted for missing people
An evacuation centre was set up at the Våno school in Väståboland, a sparsely-populated town consisting of 10,000 islands and islets. Local volunteers checked that inhabitants were coping, despite the long power cut caused by the storm. A search for missing people was organised on the island of Mielisholm.
4. River water was purified for drinking in Turku
At three water-purifying controls, Red Cross volunteers trained for situations where for some reason clean water is not available. The exercise was to make the water from the Aurajoki river, which runs through the city of Turku, drinkable.
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