Regional earthquake drill begins in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, April 22: The Asia Pacific regional simulation exercise on Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) for earthquake kicked off in Kathmandu on Wednesday. Altogether 238 persons, including 81 foreigners from several Asia Pacific countries, are participating in the three-day event.



Inaugurating the event at Soaltee Hotel Crown Plaza in Kathmandu, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam said the exercise would prove a milestone in promoting awareness on disaster response, allow national and international responders to learn how to coordinate rescue missions during earthquakes and improve the levels of cooperation among responders.



Gautam said Nepal government had realized the seriousness of calamities like earthquakes and was committed to enhance the skills of domestic responders to deal with such situations.



The UN´s International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) chief Arjun Katoch, Resident Representative of UNDP, Nepal, Robert Piper and senior officials from several ministries attended the inaugural session.



The simulation exercise, which is technically guided and supported by INSARAG, will seek to test Nepal´s capability to respond to earthquakes and to improve coordination among local, international and regional search and rescue organizations.



Among others, the event also aims to familiarize Nepali responders with the global standards for the minimum capacity of international USAR assistance that is recommended, and give Nepali responders the opportunity to practice standardized procedures for international cooperation and coordination in disaster response and other INSARAG arrangements.



Personnel from the Nepal Army, the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force, workers from the Red Cross and members of various nongovernment organizations are participating in the simulation exercise. All these exercises will be indoor events.



Altogether four situation rooms have been arranged on the premises of Soaltee Hotel to teach Nepali responders the particulars of conducting rescues.



INSARAG, a global network of more than 80 countries and disaster response organizations, deals with urban search and rescue related issues and aims to establish standards for international coordination in earthquake response.



INSARAG was established in 1991. Nepal is the first country in South Asia to hold the exercise.

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