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To continue and complete Rapid UK's training and UN registration of indigenous Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) teams in Peru, Costa Rica, India and Pakistan providing an immediate disaster-response teams in these, and neighbouring, disaster-prone countries.

100%
Categories

  • Community Support & Development Community Support & Development
  • Disaster Relief Disaster Relief
  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Other Other
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)
    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
    • Young People (18-30) Young People (18-30)
    • Other Other

    Situation

    In addition to Rapid UK’s immediate disaster-response response, two-thirds of our work is to provide free overseas training and assessment in disaster-prone countries to better prepare governments and communities to cope more effectively when disaster strikes. Rapid’s highly-experienced volunteers have carried out training and provided support of search and rescue teams in many countries around the world. Recent history has seen Rapid UK volunteers being deployed to India, Pakistan and Peru following devastating earthquakes and we continue to support these countries. For example RAPID have provided assessments, training workshops, capacity building and equipment since the late 1990’s country cumulating with the formation of RAPID LA (Latin America) team – the Bomberos, or Firefighters – in 2006. RAPID LA was being trained in order for them to join INSARAG, the United Nation’s network of more than 80 countries and disaster-response organisations that deals with urban search and rescue related issues, when another earthquake hit Peru on 15 August 2007. The shock, which reached 8.1 on the Richter scale, hit the central coast of Peru, near Pisco, causing widespread damage with over 16,000 buildings being destroyed. Rapid LA was the first search and rescue team in the area and was joined within hours by our UK team. Initially 200 people were reported missing in the city's historic cathedral, which was 98% damaged in the earthquake, and several more were trapped in the Hotel Embassy nearby and where the Rapid LA team pulled one survivor from the rubble. With our help, similar disaster-response structures are being implemented in Pakistan, India and now Costa Rica but Rapid UK must fund this work ourselves. The cost of the training for each country is £25,000 and will take approximately 12 months before the overseas teams are self-sufficient and registered with the UN’s INSARAG.

    Solution

    100%
    Categories

  • Community Support & Development Community Support & Development
  • Disaster Relief Disaster Relief
  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Other Other
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)
    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
    • Young People (18-30) Young People (18-30)
    • Other Other