Croatian Civil Protection Directorate head Damir Trut opened a traditional conference on city security in the Istrian city of Pula on Thursday and said that the field of crisis management has proven to be extremely important when the whole world is faced with climate change and more frequent disasters.

Trut emphasised that the security of cities and the way of organising the system of security and civil protection is very important since 58% of Croatians live in urban areas.

“Croatia has one of the most advanced civil protection systems, and the area of ​​crisis management has proven to be extremely important today, when we are faced with evident climate change. The consequence of that are more and more intense and frequent occurrences of disasters in the world,” Trut said.

He added that the Civil Protection Directorate is continuously working on reducing the risk of disasters and strengthening resilience and preparedness for disasters, thus fulfilling the guidelines of the UN on reducing the risk of disasters. He also recalled that last October the government adopted the Disaster Risk Management Strategy until 2030 as the first document in Croatia in the field of risk management.

County Prefect: Istria was the first to introduce fire video surveillance

Istria County prefect Boris Miletic praised the civil protection system in Istria, pointing out that the Istrian system is an example of good practice for other counties as well. Among other things, he stated, Istria was the first to introduce fire video surveillance, which is now being implemented in other parts of Croatia.

“Our services are professional and that’s why Istria is ready to welcome the new season this year as well. We expect a good tourist season, but we cannot ignore what is happening in Western Europe, especially in Germany, which is our main tourist market. Safety is important for citizens, and also for tourists who go where they feel safe. It is precisely through our civil protection system that we achieve this,” Miletic said.

The two-day conference will address issues of urban security, crisis management, civil protection and the use of new technologies for safer communities and cities.

The conference will discuss challenges related to local and national security, reducing the risk of disasters and threats, crisis management during disasters, with special reference to fires, floods and earthquakes.