The South American regional bloc's Defense Council approved an emergency response proposal that seeks to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters.
UNASUR Defense Council proposes a new natural disaster emergency response protocol (Photo: Telesur)
The Brazilian Ministry of Defense reported Wednesday that the Defense Council of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) signed an agreement earlier this month, which seeks to strengthen regional cooperation efforts in the event of natural disasters.
The accord includes a proposal that would allow Unasur member countries access to an online information database containing pertinent information about neighboring country’s ability to respond to natural disaster emergencies.
Depending on the severity of the natural disaster, the affected country could request and solicit the assistance of a neighboring country.
"The creation of a regional inventory of emergency response capacities will allow us to save lives more quickly and efficiently,” Unasur state in a press release.
The agreement also outlines a standard cooperation protocol, which includes a series of rescue exercises that could be adopted in the event of a serious natural disaster.
The proposal, which will be submitted for approval at the next Unasur heads-of state summit, will include cooperation initiatives in the event of earthquakes, avalanches and tsunamis, the statement reported.
According the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, natural disasters pose a significant threat to Latin America in terms of its population and physical assets.
In 2012, damages and losses from more than 90 natural disasters in the region since 1972 totaled approximately US$213 billion.
