Over the past decade disasters around the world, affecting urban areas of high populations living and working in concrete and reinforced concrete single and multi story dwellings, has increased the need for sophisticated USAR capabilities. While deployment of international USAR teams has been of great benefit to trapped victims and the affected country, lessons learned have revealed the need for responding USAR teams to be integrated within a well coordinated system to ensure the most appropriate use of available USAR resources. Therefore, INSARAG saw a need to classify international USAR teams according to their operational capabilities in order to ensure that only qualified and appropriate international USAR resources are deployed to an emergency. 

The INSARAG community acknowledges the importance of providing rapid professional USAR support during disasters which result in structural collapse.  In an effort to achieve this objective and the need to ensure that only qualified and appropriate international USAR resources are deployed to an emergency, the INSARAG community has developed a voluntary, independent, peer review process, the INSARAG External Classification (IEC).

To ensure that a USAR team’s international response capability remains current and continues to subscribe to the INSARAG methodology, the INSARAG External Reclassification (IER) process has also been endorsed. Taken together these two processes form the INSARAG Classification System.

Being established in 2005, this system is designed to ensure that assisting countries send a team with the required capabilities. It also plays a major role in ensuring that the appropriate resources are assigned to the appropriate sites as soon as possible. The INSARAG USAR team classification system has identified three levels of classification. These are Light, Medium and Heavy USAR teams. Details of the requirements that teams need to achieve in order to be classified, application to the IEC and all other relevant details are listed in the IEC/IER Guidelines.

There are no translations available.

The UN Secretary-General will hold the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) on 23-24 May in Istanbul, Turkey on 23 and 24 May.  The Summit will be held at the highest level and will bring the global community together to reaffirm our solidarity with people affected by crises, and our collective commitment to humanity. As a recommendation from the INSARAG Global Meeting in 2015 and the Steering Group meeting in 2016, the INSARAG Secretariat in OCHA Geneva along with a strong push from our global chair, Ambassador Manuel Bessler, we are pleased to inform you that INSARAG has been chosen to run a side event in the Summit. 

I believe that you or representatives from your Governments will be in Istanbul participating in the WHS, and would like to warmly welcome all to participate and support this event. We will update you again on the details of the event once this is confirmed closer to the date.

Should you have any questions related to administrative issues or registration, please contact me or Mr. Winston Chang at changw@un.org. 

World Humanitarian Summit

INSARAG STEERING GROUP MEETING 2016                                                

The meeting was attended by 156 participants from 66 Member States and Organizations (see Annex B), including Regional Chairs and Vice-Chairs, Working Group Chairs, National Focal Points and representatives from classified teams, and participants from the Humanitarian Networks and Partnership Week (HNPW). Representatives from OCHA’s Regional Offices and OCHA’s Emergency Services Branch (ESB) also attended. The meeting was facilitated by OCHA’s Field Coordination Support Section in its capacity as INSARAG Secretariat. 

Chairman’s Summary with Annex A — Agenda

Annex B — Participant list

Annex C1 — Concept Note — Capacity Building

Annex C2 — Concept Note — IER System

Annex C3 — Concept Note — International Light Teams

Annex C4 — Concept Note — Beyond the Rubble

Annex C5 — Concept Note — National USAR Team Accreditation_ENG

Annex C5 — Concept Note — National USAR Team Accreditation _SPA 

Humanitarian Networks Partnerships Week 2016 

Photo Gallery 1

Photo Gallery 2 

(open with Google Chrome)

FCSS — END OF THE YEAR’S NEWSLETTER                                                      

Dear Colleagues,

As 2015 is coming to an end, I have been reflecting on our experiences this past year. We had twelve UNDAC missions, including floods in Malawi and Myanmar, a cyclone in Vanuatu and the earthquake in Nepal. Two years of consultations culminated in the launch of the INSARAG Guidelines, and along with the new OSOCC Operations course and Emergency Response Methodology training, reflect our efforts to put the right tools in the right hands. It was also a year of building connections with the three organizations taking part in the Professional Dialogue meeting in Cyprus and the second INSARAG Global Meeting in Abu Dhabi. Our operational partners who provide technical support during deployments grew with the signing of a Letter of Intent with the Fuel Relief Fund. Read more…

INSARAG Year End Report 2015 

INSARAG GLOBAL MEETING 2015  

Message from

Jesper Holmer Lund

Secretary of INSARAG

and Chief FCSS, OCHA Geneva

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The international and national urban search and rescue (USAR) community gathered for the second INSARAG global meeting and 25th anniversary of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 18 to 19 October 2015, back-to-back with the three Working Groups Meetings, USAR Team Leaders Meeting and three Regional Groups Meetings on 20 October — the largest INSARAG gathering in history !  

313 participants from 94 countries and organisations and more than 200 participants from the Abu Dhabi Police attended the meeting, leading to the ‘INSARAG Abu Dhabi declaration’, INSARAG’s input to the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016.

As the UN Secretary-General said in his message on this occasion, » As INSARAG celebrates 25 years, you should all be proud of the success this community has achieved…The ability of the network to span continents and cultures is a testament to the commitment of its members and a model of best practice for the humanitarian community» 

In the past week, I have received nothing but positive comments. As such, there is no doubt that we fully met our objectives for the series of INSARAG meetings. This astounding success surpassed all expectations, and I thank each and every one of you who contributed time, effort and commitment to making the week of INSARAG meetings in Abu Dhabi a historic and memorable event. Allow me to salute and thank again, all of you who made it possible.  

By coming together, we have shown the humanitarian community that INSARAG remains a highly relevant network and can be called upon to deliver value added life-saving assistance based on agreed standards and will continue to improve our response to be «Fit for the Future». 

Finally, we are very grateful to the UAE, the Ministry of Interior of the UAE, for hosting this event, UN and international/regional organizations and other entities that contributed. 

Please find the session presentations in the links below for the Team Leaders and Global Meetings.

Best regards,

Jesper

Global Meeting Chariman’s Summary

Global Meeting presentations

Abu Dhabi Declaration in English

Abu Dhabi Declaration in French

Abu Dhabi Declaration in Spanish

Abu Dhabi Declaration in Chinese

Abu Dhabi Declaration in Arabic

Group photos

Team Leaders Meeting

ARTICLE «THE GUARDIAN» REGARDING THE INSARAG SIMEX IN CHILE.                              

Article  «The Guardian» regarding the INSARAG Simex in Chile » How did Chile manage to survive its recent earthquake virtually unscathed? The article also in PDF attached .

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Страница 1 из 3

ARMENIA BECAME A MEMBER OF THE UN INSARAG

On September 4, Armenia became a member of the UN International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) after the Armenian Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team successfully underwent a three-day external classification exercise held on 1-4 September and was classified as a Medium USAR Team. — See more in this link or you can download the document here .

NEPAL EARTHQUAKE — INSARAG MINI-SURVEY

Following the recent Earthquake in Nepal, the OCHA Field Coordination Support Section as INSARAG Secretariat commenced a technical evaluation of the Urban Search and Rescue response with a focus on on deployment considerations, virtual and operational support provided by OCHA, implementation of the 2015 INSARAG Guidelines and work conducted by the USAR teams beyond the initial Search and Rescue phase.

Thoughts and comments were collected through an online survey and we are grateful to those who contributed.

This comments and feedback received through this evaluation will contribute to the Nepal Lessons Learned at the Global INSARAG Meeting in October as well as a system-wide evaluation of the Nepal response to which all USAR teams will be invited to contribute. 

Thank you again for your continued support and dedication to INSARAG.

The results of the survey are summarized in the attached REPORT .

INSARAG REGIONAL EQ EX REVIEW WORKSHOP IN GENEVA

The INSARAG Earthquake Response Exercise Redesign Workshop, 15-17 April 2015, was taken place in Geneva. The participants are revising and strengthening the INSARAG Earthquake Response Exercise, by implementing the revised INSARAG Guidelines 2015 and the OSOCC Guidelines 2014. The workshop was officially opened by the Deputy Director OCHA Geneva and Chief of the Emergency Services Branch, Rudolf Müller, and is attended by 44 participants from partners such as the World Health Organization, MapAction, ACAPS, and OCHA Regional Offices. The outcome of the workshop is a generic INSARAG Earthquake Response Exercise Package that for the first time will be used in the upcoming INSARAG exercise in Mongolia.

TRAINING WORKING GROUP MEETING IN GENEVA

The INSARAG Training Working Group (TWG) met on 13-14 April 2015 in Geneva. The TWG is an engaged team of global urban search and rescue experts, who meet three times a year to develop training standards and content for the INSARAG community. The TWG supports the INSARAG Earthquake Response Exercise Redesign Workshop, which currently is taking place (15-17 April). They will provide their unique expertise, and propose a strategy for the revised generic INSARAG Earthquake Response Exercise Package.

SAVE THE DATE: GLOBAL MEETING 2015                                                      

INSARAG Global Meeting 2015 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates

Join Member States, UN Agencies, the IFRC, and OCHA for the 2nd INSARAG Global Meeting in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, from 18 to 20 October 2015.

Highlights:

• Celebrate 25 years of INSARAG’s standards setting and contributions to strengthening the effectiveness and coordination of international urban search and rescue (USAR) assistance based on UN GA 57/150.
• Special testimony from rescued survivors of major earthquakes.
• Help chart INSARAG’s value add and role in the changing humanitarian landscape through the theme for the meeting: «Fit for the Future».
• The Annual INSARAG USAR Team Leaders Meeting (16-17 October) and 3 Regional Meetings (20 October) meets back-to-back.

Save this date, and see you in Abu Dhabi this October!

Please find attached the Official Second Announcement .

For more information, write to the INSARAG Secretariat at insarag@un.org

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There are no translations available.

The INSARAG Secretariat can hold ad-hoc events, for example to discuss the lessons learnt from major earthquake responses. These events are open to INSARAG members.

2010: Haiti Earthquake After Action Review Meeting:

Below are the recommendations report of this meeting and a book regarding the Haiti earthquake international urban search and rescue response and Haiti Earthquake After Action Review Meeting. 

Haiti Earthquake Response (Book)

Haiti Earthquake AAR Meeting Recommendations Report -English

Haiti Earthquake AAR Meeting Recommendations Report -Spanish

2004: Iran/Bam and Morocco Earthquakes Lessons Learned Meeting:

Below is the Chairman Summary of the meeting organised to discuss international urban search and rescue response lessons learned from Iran/Bam (2003) and Morocco (2004) earthquakes.

Iran/Morocco Lessons Learned Meeting

2003: Algerian Earthquake Lessons Learned Meeting:

Below is the Chairman Summary of the meeting organised to discuss international urban search and rescue response lessons learned from the 2003 Algerian earthquake.

Algeria Lessons Learned Meeting 

1999: Turkey and Taipei Earthquakes Lessons Learned Meeting:

Below is the report from the Meeting of international USAR Team Leaders on Lessons Learned and follow up to the 1999 Turkey and Taipei Earthquakes.  

Turkey and Taipei Earthquakes Lessons Learned Meeting

Message from

Jesper Holmer Lund

Secretary of INSARAG

and Chief FCSS, OCHA Geneva 

Dear Colleagues and Friends, 

The international and national urban search and rescue (USAR) community gathered for the second INSARAG global meeting and 25th anniversary of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 18 to 19 October 2015, back-to-back with the three Working Groups Meetings, USAR Team Leaders Meeting and three Regional Groups Meetings on 20 October — the largest INSARAG gathering in history ! 

313 participants from 94 countries and organisations and more than 200 participants from the Abu Dhabi Police attended the meeting, leading to the ‘INSARAG Abu Dhabi declaration’, INSARAG’s input to the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016.

As the UN Secretary-General said in his message on this occasion, » As INSARAG celebrates 25 years, you should all be proud of the success this community has achieved…The ability of the network to span continents and cultures is a testament to the commitment of its members and a model of best practice for the humanitarian community» 

In the past week, I have received nothing but positive comments. As such, there is no doubt that we fully met our objectives for the series of INSARAG meetings. This astounding success surpassed all expectations, and I thank each and every one of you who contributed time, effort and commitment to making the week of INSARAG meetings in Abu Dhabi a historic and memorable event. Allow me to salute and thank again, all of you who made it possible. 

By coming together, we have shown the humanitarian community that INSARAG remains a highly relevant network and can be called upon to deliver value added life-saving assistance based on agreed standards and will continue to improve our response to be «Fit for the Future». 

Finally, we are very grateful to the UAE, the Ministry of Interior of the UAE, for hosting this event, UN and international/regional organizations and other entities that contributed. 

Please find the session presentations in the links below for the Team Leaders and Global Meetings. 

Best regards,

Jesper 

Global Meeting Chariman’s Summary

Global Meeting presentations

Abu Dhabi Declaration in English

Abu Dhabi Declaration in French

Abu Dhabi Declaration in Spanish

Abu Dhabi Declaration in Chinese

Group photos 

Team Leaders Meeting

Greetings from the Secretary-General together with a video message from Ms Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary General for OCHA were warmly welcomed by the participants. The Secretary-General said INSARAG had «come a long way» since it was founded in 1991, and he welcomed its efforts to promote greater professionalism and coordination. «There is great scope for sharing lessons learnt and using modern technology to provide even more effective support to affected communities and governments.»

An important outcome of the INSARAG Global Meeting was the creation of the INSARAG Hyogo Declaration (English, French) with recommendations on «recognition and strengthening of international urban search and rescue operational standards» which was unanimously agreed upon by all participating countries. The giant copy of the declaration signed by all the meeting participants was handed over to the Governor of Hyogo, to be displayed at the Earthquake Museum in Kobe, Japan.

Photo INSARAG Hyogo Declaration at the Museum-1

Photo INSARAG Hyogo Declaration at the Museum-2

2010 INSARAG Global Meeting Chairman Summary (Arabic, English,French)

The INSARAG Guidelines Review Group (GRG) met in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on 14-15 October 2015. The list of participants can be found in Annex A. 

This meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Interior of the Government of the United Arab Emirates and co-organised by the INSARAG Secretariat. 

The meeting was opened by Mr. Winston Chang, Humanitarian Affairs Officer, FCSS-OCHA and Mr. David Sochor, Chief of Rapid Response Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Chief of Staff to the Chairman GRG, Ambassador Manuel Bessler. 

Guidelines Review Group Meeting Chairman’s Summary

Presentation 

The INSARAG Medical Working Group (MWG) in keeping with UN General Assembly Resolution 57/150 on «Strengthening the Effectiveness and Coordination of International Urban Search and Rescue Assistance» aims to the enhance the INSARAG Guidelines that will enable the medical component of a USAR team and develop relevant medical guidance notes. MWG was established in 2008 with the endorsement from the INSARAG Steering Committe in 2007 . This inter-regional working group aims to focus on the medical requirements of international USAR teams being deployed outside their countries of origin. The group meets two to three times a year. The reports of this working group’s meetings can be found below. The medical guidance notes prepared by this working group and endorsed by the INSARAG Steering Group can be found at ‘Methodology’ tab.

Chair of MWG:

Dr. Anthony Macintyre

Email:  macintyr@gwu.edu

• MWG 2015   ( 1 Материал )
• MWG 2013   ( 1 Материал )
• MWG 2012   ( 1 Материал )
• MWG 2011   ( 2 Материалы )
• MWG 2010   ( 3 Материалы )
• MWG 2009   ( 2 Материалы )
• MWG 2008   ( 1 Материал )