Local Emergency Management Agency – LEMA members visiting the Base of Operation in Kotor

The international field exercise on the topic of earthquake response - BALANCE 2022, organized by the Directorate for Protection and Rescue of the Ministry of Interior, began on October 10 and will last until October 14, 2022. The exercise is conducted at 12 locations in Kotor, Tivat and Herceg Novi. The locations in question are in the Old Town of Kotor, then Autoboka, the former Riviera factory, the Resource Center for Hearing and Speech "Dr. Peruta Ivanović" in Kotor, Župa, Opatovo, Luštica and Tajno Brdo, while the camp (base of operation) for the accommodation of rescue teams built on the site of the former Fjord Hotel. The exercise is held within the framework of the EU project BALANCE - Management of large-scale earthquakes in the Western Balkans through joint activities of cross-border cooperation, which is implemented as part of the Union Mechanism for Civil Protection.

Institute of Hydrometeorology and Seismology – IHMS Montenegro registered the earthquake with the epicentre 8 km south of Herceg Novi (Boka bay), Montenegro. After processing data, the National Operational-Communication Centre 112 has been informed.

Operational-Communication Centre 112 (OCC) stared with communication, coordination and interoperability among local and national structures. In the first step target audience discuss about:

1) What happened?

2) Set up Local Emergency Management Agency - LEMA and understanding situation? First forces are on the field? Collection of first information?

3) Decide does Montenegro need International Assistance of European Civil Protection Team - EUCPT and Technical Assistance Support Team - TAST and which kind of expertise?

4) Which bilateral agreements in the field of emergencies are exist?

5) Who is responsible for sending request for international assistance?