India to host 1st South Asian disaster management exercise

The first South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx-2015) to provide a platform for strengthening regional disaster response mechanism amongst the SAARC countries will commence in the national capital region on Monday.
The common exercise with the participation of delegations and rescuers from each of the eight SAARC Nations - India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
The key focus of SAADMEx-2015 is to test coordination efforts, create synergy and synchronize efforts to institutionalise regional cooperation on disaster response among the member countries.
On the first day, different kinds of disaster situations will be simulated and individual and joint response measures will get discussed.

On the second day, response for collapsed structure search and rescue (CSSR) will be carried out at Ghaziabad to demonstrate the CSSR capabilities of participating nations which will be followed by a demonstration on chemical emergency response at Greater Noida on the third day.
During the course of the exercise, various types of latest gadgets and equipment as well as varied disaster response skill sets will be demonstrated by the teams of the participating nations.

On the last day, debriefing and 'After Action Review' (AAR) will be conducted to gather important lessons learnt which would assist the countries to augment current and joint levels of disaster response and coordination.

While Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju will inaugurate the SAADMEx-2015 in New Delhi on Monday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be the chief guest at the valedictory session on Thursday to discuss the outcomes of the exercise and provide guidance for future improvement.
Secretary General-SAARC, representatives from Embassies, High Commissions of SAARC Nations in Delhi, Home Ministry, Ministry of External Affairs, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), NDRF, National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and senior officials from the relevant ministries will be attending the exercise.