I.S.A.R. Germany is helping to combat the catastrophic consequences of the severe earthquake in Mexico in cooperation with the Federal Association of Rescue Dogs (BRH). On Wednesday, the Mexican embassy welcomed the offer to send experts who can assess the condition of the collapsed buildings and thus support the rescue teams in their further work. Following the second major earthquake in Mexico in just a few days, hundreds of people were still believed to be trapped under collapsed buildings a day later. The 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck in the centre of the country early on Tuesday afternoon (local time). At least fifty buildings, some of them large, collapsed in Mexico City alone.
Civil engineers and other experts from the International Search And Rescue Germany organisation who are familiar with building statics after disasters are expected to fly from Frankfurt Airport to Mexico City on Thursday at 13:25 (LH 498).
A joint reconnaissance team from the aid organisation I.S.A.R. Germany and the Humanitarian Aid department of the BRH set off there on Wednesday. The team consists of a civil engineer, a medical doctor, a disaster management expert and an expert from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). They flew from Düsseldorf via Madrid to Mexico, where they are expected to arrive on Thursday morning.
In order to alleviate the suffering, I.S.A.R. Germany has also offered to send a medical aid team experienced in disaster relief. The Mexican authorities will decide on this offer at short notice depending on how the situation develops.
The experts deployed are very experienced. For example, they were able to contribute their construction expertise following the severe earthquake in Nepal in 2014, the severe hurricane in the Philippines in 2013 and the severe earthquake in Haiti.