Why in News?

• Union Minister of Home Affairs will inaugurate the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search & Rescue (SCOJtEx-2019).
• SCO Urban Earthquake Search & Rescue Exercise (SCOJtEx.)-2019:
• The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is hosting the exercise.
• The main aim to rehearse the disaster response mechanism, share knowledge, experience, technology & also for mutual coordination, etc.
• This exercise shall also provide an opportunity to enhance the coordination & co-operation involving multi-agency operations in an earthquake scenario.
• The participants of all 08 member countries namely China, India, Kazakhastan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan shall be participating in this exercise.
• The four day long simulation exercise shall be conducted as per the International Search & Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) methodology & guidelines.
• There will be a Joint Urban Earthquake Search & Rescue Exercise for Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states followed by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization experts meeting of Ministries responsible for Prevention and Elimination of Emergency Situation.
• The main focus of Shanghai Cooperation Organization Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search & Rescue (SCOJtEx-2019) shall be to test the region’s preparedness and resilience towards effective activation of Inter- governmental interaction for immediate response.

INSARAG:

• The International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) was established in 1991.
• This establishment followed the initiatives of the specialised international Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams who operated together in the Mexican earthquake of 1985 and the Armenian earthquake of 1988.
• The INSARAG’s primary purpose is to facilitate coordination between the various international USAR teams who make themselves available for deployment to countries experiencing devastating events of structural collapse due primarily to earthquakes.
• The group achieves such coordination through facilitating opportunities for communication between these groups ahead of such events.
• These meetings of teams have resulted in many practical agreements between them that have streamlined working together during actual disasters.