The subdelegate of the Government in A Coruña, María Rivas, traveled today to A Praíña, in Pontevea to supervise the forest fire exercise next to the Ulla River in which Spanish and Portuguese media participated. This simulation is part of the activities of the Interreg Annual Event, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as well as the Interreg European Funds, distributed by the Ministry of Finance and Public Service.
During her visit, the subdelegate supervised the ARIEM+ project, which is a mechanism for collaboration between those responsible for managing and mobilizing resources in the event of major emergencies in southern Galicia, Castilla y León and northern Portugal, and which aims to increase territorial resilience in the face of transboundary natural hazards.
The development of the exercise consisted in the simulation of a forest fire in the river area, which included water rescue maneuvers, both on the surface and under the river, to carry out a search simulation of three missing fishermen and a rescue of two bathers, with one of them injured.
This exercise aims to present the Territorial Commission to correct coordination and the operational capacities of the different bodies and services involved, as well as to serve as an exhibition of the operational means that were acquired with the Interreg Funds, such as the motor pump that the agents used in the simulation.
In the manoeuvre, resources from both Galicia and Portugal were deployed, such as the troops of the UPA and the Civil Guard, the National Police, the Supramunicipal Emergency Group of A Estrada, the Firefighters of Viana del Castelo and the Portuguese GNR, who moved several drones to the area for the visualization of the operation.
The ARIEM+ Project is part of the Spain-Portugal Interreg Cooperation Program (POCTEP), which promotes the development of cross-border projects between different regions of Spain (Galicia, Castilla y León, Extremadura and Andalusia) and Portugal.