Comprehensive training for the IER examination by INSARAG, an international emergency rescue team, in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) conducted a practical comprehensive drill simulating actual search and rescue activities of the Japan Disaster Relief Team (JDR), which is dispatched to large-scale disasters overseas, from May 11 to 13 at the Hyogo Prefectural Disaster Prevention Center and Miki Disaster Prevention Park, following last November. The training was held under adverse conditions with heavy rainfall at the Hyogo Prefectural Wide-Area Disaster Prevention Center and Miki Disaster Prevention Park from May 11 to 13, following last November. This year, the training was conducted under adverse conditions due to heavy rainfall, as the participants were scheduled to undergo the INSARAG External Re-Classification (IER) in November, which is the renewal period of the certification. The program was conducted by inviting a mentor from the U.S. and two rescue team members from the U.S.
The comprehensive training was conducted to improve the readiness of rescue teams to search and rescue people left behind in collapsed buildings after a major earthquake, and to confirm the level of proficiency in search and rescue methods appropriate for the IER examination, as stipulated by international standards.
On the morning of May 11, the 74 members and 4 rescue dogs who participated in the drill gathered at a facility in Kobe City, which was assumed to be at Narita Airport, and left for the Hyogo Prefectural Disaster Prevention Center (Miki City), which was assumed to be in a disaster-stricken country. The team worked for 48 hours in a row, starting with a hearing at the local disaster response headquarters, setting up a campsite as a base of operations, and identifying areas for search and rescue activities (ASR2 activities; see footnote).
© Source JICA