UNESCO guide: tasks of urban search and rescue in heritage protection areas

Abstract

Among natural disasters, an earthquake can cause the greatest destruction in the shortest time. The effectiveness of early warning systems for such events is extremely low, and it is only possible to have a minimal influence on damages or losses through prevention. In Hungary, on June 28, 1763, an earthquake in Komárom caused the death of 63 people and the collapse of 279 buildings. As a current example, the earthquakes in Turkey on February 6, 2023, in addition to the many thousands of deaths, are part of the The Castle of Gaziantep, built in the 2th century, which was also destroyed. This case shows that properties under heritage protection, which preserve history in themselves and with countless works of art, are also at risk. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has provided guidelines for urban search and rescue teams performing international rescues for the importance of saving special values and the success of value protection tasks in the operational area. The UN International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) accepted the document and recommended it for use by all rescue teams.