Armenia to Hold Large-Scale International Rescue Exercises

As part of the program "Comprehensive Management of Earthquake in Vulnerable Areas of the South Caucasus through Efficient Planning, Response, and Joint Actions," a field rescue exercise will be conducted in Armenia this October. The exercise will involve urban search and rescue teams with external qualifications from the "International Search and Rescue Advisory Group" (INSARAG) from Armenia, Montenegro, France, Cyprus, Greece, and North Macedonia.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations reports that the program is financed by the European Union. From March 29-31, a major planning conference for the exercise will be held in Yerevan, attended by representatives from the European Union and experts from Armenia, Greece, Cyprus, Montenegro, and France. A command-staff exercise on the same theme will take place in May, and the final conference for the planning of the field exercise will be held in July.

According to the scenario, a devastating earthquake has occurred in Armenia, leading to complex emergencies. Armenia requests assistance from international organizations, activating the European Union’s civil protection mechanism, with rescue teams from various countries and international organizations arriving in Armenia to support the affected population. The goal of the exercise is to strengthen the mechanisms for coordination and cooperation among rescue teams from different countries operating in the disaster-affected area.

Armenian rescuers have extensive experience in organizing and participating in international exercises. Since 2000, the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) of NATO has organized various international field exercises addressing the aftermath of natural disasters in different countries. Armenian rescuers have participated in these exercises: in 2011 in Moldova, in 2012 in Georgia, in 2015 in Ukraine, in 2016 in Montenegro, in 2017 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2018 in Serbia, and in 2021 in North Macedonia, among others. In 2010, an EADRCC field exercise was held in Armenia, with the participation of rescue teams from 20 countries.

In parallel with the exercises, our rescuers are also involved in real response missions. The latest such response took place in February of this year when two Armenian urban search and rescue teams participated in search and rescue efforts in areas affected by earthquakes in Syria and Turkey.