A survey of international urban search-and-rescue teams following the Ji Ji earthquake

Abstract

On 21 September 1999, the Ji Ji earthquake killed 2,347 people. In the immediate aftermath the international community mobilised rapidly and sent urban search-and-rescue (US&R) teams to the scene. This paper will present will an annotated survey of the expertise and standard of equipment of international US&R teams following that earthquake which could serve as a blueprint for the establishment of US&R teams elsewhere at risk from earthquakes.