T

he International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) Asia-Pacific, in cooperation with the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (UNOCHA), is organizing a joint exercise on earthquake responses in Yogyakarta.

The five-day exercise, participated in by search and rescue (SAR) teams from 24 countries, will last until Friday.

“The focus is primarily on urban search and rescue, we will practice rescuing people in collapsed structures in an urban environment,” head of the UNOCHA Indonesia/ASEAN liaison office, Oliver Lacey Hall, told journalists here on Monday.

The exercise will be held in two locations: First at the Inna Garuda Hotel and second, a field exercise, to be held at the Jombor Field in Sleman regency. Yogyakarta has been chosen as this year’s site for the exercise as commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Yogyakarta earthquake, which killed thousands of people and damaged tens of thousands of homes in May 2006.

Basarnas chief, Vice Marshal FH Bambang Soelistyo, said the current exercise would be used by the Indonesian SAR teams to increase their skills and insights.

“Upon completion of this joint exercise, hopefully the Indonesian SAR teams will always be ready whenever a disaster occurs,” he said.

INSARAG was established in 1991, with its head office located in Geneva, Switzerland. The organization was established in order to promote effective international cooperation in public safety in times of disaster.