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Denmark to be struck by an atomic disaster this week
Christian Wenande
November 9th, 2015
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But don’t worry, it’s only a drill
On November 11, a nuclear-powered Russian submarine will collide with a large freighter in the Kattegat strait leading to an atomic disaster.
But don’t worry, there’s no need to get out your radioactive suit and mask just yet. It’s just an exercise.
The exercise, which takes place every second year, is dubbed ‘KRISØV 2015’ (‘War Exercise 2015’) and involves testing the preparedness of over 30 Danish ministries, authorities and emergency organisations during a massive emergency situation.
“The day a crisis strikes, we must be prepared across the board,” said the defence minister, Peter Christensen. “We do this by practising.”
“The national crisis handling exercise is very important because all the involved actors are given the opportunity to practise handling, co-operating and communicating in order for us to be prepared as well as possible when it counts.”
READ MORE: Sirens to sound across Denmark tomorrow
Atomic threat
According to a national risk assessment published by the emergency preparedness authority Beredskabsstyrelsen in 2013, an atomic accident is one of the top 10 threats to Denmark.
Journalists from a number of Danish media outlets will also take an active part in the exercise, which will last until the November 12, in order to make the simulation as realistic as possible.
Scenarios in previous KRISØV exercises have included terror attacks, bird flu epidemics and cyber attacks.
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