AssA-Irada,
24, September 2007

An international symposium, "Natural cataclysms and global issues of modern civilization", started in Baku on Monday.

Some 100 scholars from 35 countries, including the Nobel Prize winners, are attending the three-day event, which aims to conduct monitoring of natural calamities meeting up-to-date requirements, capitalize on the experience of world countries in this area and seek ways of solving problems facing the present-day world.

Minister of Emergencies Kamaladdin Heydarov, addressing the event, said 60% of Azerbaijan's territory is seismically active, with a possibility of earthquakes measuring 8-9 points on Richter scale. Over 4 million citizens of the eight-million nation live in these areas.

More than 200 residential areas of the country, 300 km of railways and over 1,000 km of roads of nationwide importance as well as vast arable land are constantly subject to flood. "A concerted effort by scholars and specialists from various countries is needed to solve the problem," Heydarov said.

The symposium was organized by the Ministry of Emergencies and the International Council of Scientific Development (ICSD).

The ICSD was founded in 1980 with the International Academy of Science by distinguished academicians.