Standards in Collaborative International Disaster Drills: A Case Study of Two International Search and Rescue Drills

Abstract

During the last few decades, various global disasters have rendered nations helpless (such as Thailand's tsunami and earthquakes in Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, and India). A lack of knowledge and resources make it difficult to address such disasters. Preparedness for a national disaster is expensive, and in most cases, unachievable even for modern countries. International collaboration might be useful for coping with large-scale disasters. Preparedness for international collaboration includes drills. Two such drills held by the Israeli Home Front Command and other military and civilian bodies with the nations of Greece and Turkey are described in this article. The data were gathered from formal debriefings of the Israeli teams collaborating in two separate drills with Greek and Turkish teams. Preparations began four months before the drills were conducted and included three meetings between Israeli and foreign officials. The Israeli and foreign officials agreed upon the drill layout, logistics, communications, residence, real-time medicine, hardware, and equipment. The drills took place in Greece and Turkey and lasted four days. The first day included meetings between the teams and logistics preparations. The second and third days were devoted to exercises. The drills included evacuating casualties from a demolition zone and treating typical injuries such as crush syndrome. Every day ended with a formal debriefing by the teams' commanders. The fourth day included a ceremony and transportation back home. Members in both teams felt the drills improved their skills and had an important impact on creating common language that would enhance cooperation during a real disaster. A key factor in the management of large-scale disasters is coordination between countries. International drills are important to create common language within similar regulations.