1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 That wave is a good 15-20 feet tall. Easy. 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:11,000 We live in an unpredictable world where disaster can strike at any time. 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:18,000 Catastrophes can be natural, like the South Asia tsunami that left over 300,000 people dead in 2004. 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:25,000 Or they can be man-made, like the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah fighters, 5 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,000 which caused huge suffering and damage, particularly in Lebanon. 6 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:35,000 But whatever the cause, getting help to victims is always a race against time. 7 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:42,000 The aid and assistance that arrives in a disaster zone in the first hours and days is vital. 8 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,000 It can make the difference between a catastrophe being brought under control 9 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:49,000 or degenerating into a major humanitarian crisis. 10 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:56,000 All European countries have a long history of dealing with disasters both at home and abroad. 11 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,000 They've all drawn up what the experts call national civil protection plans 12 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,000 that set out what to do if the unthinkable happens, 13 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:07,000 and include regular training exercises and simulations. 14 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,000 These Danish civil protection volunteers are learning advanced first aid techniques, for example. 15 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,000 But in 2001, Europe's approach to civil protection entered a new era 16 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:24,000 when EU governments agreed to set up a system that would allow them to pool their resources. 17 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:31,000 The decision created one of the most comprehensive and advanced disaster relief mechanisms anywhere in the world. 18 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,000 An essential part of this mechanism is preparation. 19 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:40,000 Today, disaster relief experts from across the European Union regularly train together 20 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,000 so that they can efficiently work hand-in-hand when tackling catastrophes. 21 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:50,000 Here, for example, experts from Austria, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Sweden 22 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:55,000 are taking part in an exercise designed to help them deal with a suspected biological weapons attack. 23 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,000 At the heart of the EU's new coordinated civil protection system 24 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,000 is this rather small room in a European Commission office building in Brussels. 25 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,000 It's called the Monitoring and Information Centre, or MIC for short, 26 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,000 and it plays a vital role in helping the EU to help disaster victims. 27 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:22,000 The MIC is where emergencies are managed. 28 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:28,000 From here we send requests for help to Member States. 29 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,000 We gather requests from countries asking for help 30 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:37,000 and we try to match them with offers of assistance. 31 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,000 We work together for the common objective, 32 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:48,000 which is to offer help where it is needed. 33 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:54,000 Since its creation, the MIC, which is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, 34 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:59,000 has coordinated the EU's response to many major civil protection operations. 35 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,000 Aside from the tsunami, it was involved with aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina, 36 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,000 which ripped through much of the southern United States in 2005. 37 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:14,000 It also helped manage EU civil protection assistance to victims of the Lebanon War 38 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,000 and has been involved in relief operations following major earthquakes 39 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,000 that shook Morocco, Iran and Algeria. 40 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,000 Closer to home, the Monitoring Centre helped coordinate efforts to combat the pollution 41 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,000 caused by the wreck of the Prestige oil tanker in 2002. 42 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:36,000 It was involved recently in the fight against forest fires in France, Portugal and Spain. 43 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,000 It's also played a key role in disaster relief work 44 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,000 following the floods that have affected many regions of Europe in recent years. 45 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,000 Peter Korsklessen is a Danish civil protection expert. 46 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,000 He's been sent to disaster zones all over the world 47 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:57,000 and most of his operations have begun at this training facility near the city of Billund. 48 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,000 The centre boasts a warehouse full of specially packed equipment, 49 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:06,000 everything from field toilets to tents to generators to satellite telephone links. 50 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:12,000 All of it ready to fly anywhere at a moment's notice alongside Mr. Korsklessen or his colleagues. 51 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,000 His career began before 2001 52 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:21,000 and he now often works as an EU coordinator on disaster relief operations around the world. 53 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:26,000 So he's well placed to see how the new system has changed the way Europe responds to disasters. 54 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,000 Before the system was put in place, 55 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:33,000 we tended to have bilateral assistance from individual EU countries 56 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,000 to states that asked for help. 57 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:40,000 Now we're coordinating the way we work much more. 58 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,000 We're trying to pull together our efforts 59 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,000 so that there's one single aid provider 60 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,000 instead of a lot of small individual countries. 61 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,000 The EU's civil protection strategy is constantly under review 62 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:17,000 with both EU governments and the Union's institutions keen to find new ways to make it work even more efficiently. 63 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,000 Of course the system will never stop disasters happening 64 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,000 but when they do, Europe can now ensure that the right equipment and expertise 65 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,000 reaches those who need it as fast as possible.