KUWAIT: The cabinet is mulling the notion of establishing a catastrophe prevention apparatus that can activate measures to withstand the onset of either natural or man-made disasters in the country, said an official on Thursday.

Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Minister of Electricity and Water Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah made this statement to reporters after having attended the annual exercise dubbed 'Shamel 2' which tests the nation's emergency responses in the event of the occurrence of a disaster of any kind such as torrential rains or floods or eye-blinding sand storms. He said the annual exercise was necessary to upgrade and streamline the response time and magnitude of various government agencies and civic institutions in the face of disasters.

Meanwhile, Ahmadi Governor Sheikh Fawaz Al-Khaled Al-Sabah said this recurrent exercise was vital for his governorate as it hosts numerous oil and industrial facilities in addition to large population concentrations, making it crucial to have an effective apparatus to protect everything in the case of natural or man-made disasters such as fires or torrential rains.

Also speaking to reporters at the conclusion of this year's exercise was chief of Kuwait Fire Service Directorate (KFSD) Yousef Al-Ansari who emphasized the necessity of having military and government and civic organizations coordinate their functions in the event of a catastrophe or nation-wide emergency.

Shamel 2 exercise took place today in the governorate of Al-Ahmadi in the southern region of the country with the participation of 11 government agencies equipped to handle natural or man-made national emergencies. - KUNA