South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx) 2015

Background:

The prevalent Geo-climatic conditions as well as increased frequency of natural calamities in the South Asian Countries Region, especially in the wake of the recent Himalayan Tragedy in Nepal in the month of April 2015, calls for enhanced / strengthened levels of preparedness and risk resilience as well as collaborative action amongst member countries so as to individually and jointly deal with such disaster situations and ensure minimal loss of lives and assets. Disaster preparedness has traditionally remained inadequate in many countries for want of enhancement of capacities of the Disaster Management Institutions in response capabilities as well as inter-institutional and intergovernmental coordination. The lessons learnt from HFA (Hyogo Framework for Action) reinforce that Global, Regional and Trans-boundary cooperation remains pivotal in supporting countries, local authorities, communities and businesses to reduce disaster risk. Therefore, Regional and International cooperation is essential not only to cope with the impacts of disaster but also to help ensure stability and economic growth in the region.

With respect to the South Asian countries Region, the lessons learnt from various disasters, and the most recent Himalayan Earthquake Tragedy in Nepal and Afghanistan, reinforce the critical need for strengthening regional coordination and cooperation in disaster response preparedness, especially in the use of foreign civil aid and military assets. South Asian countries agreement on Rapid Response to Natural Disasters has been signed by Member Countries in 2011 to enable joint response to disaster emergencies through concerted national efforts and intensified regional cooperation.

The purpose of the SAADMEx is to provide participants with an opportunity to review and discuss disaster response plans and capabilities of an affected country by both national authorities and external multi-lateral organizations. The exercise will focus on national on-site emergency command and control, coordination, critical decisions, notifications, and the coordination and integration of regional and international humanitarian supports.

Scope:

The SAADMEx-2015 is developed to be practical and realistic, aiming to address the diverse strategic issues of a multi-national disaster relief operation and coordination. The exercise scenarios will be challenging as some elements of surprise will be introduced. The idea is to allow the responders to react spontaneously to the surprise elements.

Core components and issues:

The components and issues listed below have been selected by the SAADMEx - 2015 Steering committee. These components provide the foundation for development of the exercise objectives and scenario, as the purpose of this exercise is to measure and validate performance of these components and their associated critical tasks.

• Initial Response
• Communication
• Coordination Mechanism
• Integration of Exercises
• Public Information and Media coordination.
• Consular Assistance

Exercise objectives:

The SAADMEx-2015 is expected to test the region's preparedness and resilience to address the following specific challenges:

• Strengthen the effective utilization and quick deployment of the Search and Rescue Teams for Disaster Relief and Emergency Response, including Emergency Rapid Assessment Teams;
• Effective activation of the national process for regional response and operationalization of regional mechanism for collective response to disasters in the region (including information sharing on early warning) ;
• Management of mass casualties which among others would involve communication breakdown and engineering difficulties;
• Receiving of aid / humanitarian assistance as well as its effective and timely distribution;
• Management of consular assistance to foreign tourists in the disaster area;
• Coordination and information sharing with foreign embassies in the disaster affected country;
• Management of media officials and control of information outflow (management of information);
• Role of International and local agencies / volunteers and their coordination with the HADR (Govt.) authorities.
• Special needs of vulnerable population i.e. women, children and people with disabilities in the disaster area.
• Relief Management