International emergency medical and technical assistance teams were put to the test in an earthquake scenario where a non-EU country has asked for help through the UCPM. Hosted by Italy, the teams were put through their paces in this challenging modules field exercise to test and train their efficiency, coordination and interoperability.
The UCPM MODEX exercise in Arcevia, Italy, has tested the capacities of international emergency medical teams to respond to a major earthquake.
With medical teams and capacities from Andorra, Austria, Germany and Romania, a technical assistance and support team from the Netherlands and an EU civil protection team, the exercise followed a simulated mission in the fictional country of Modulistan following an earthquake.
As always in a UCPM MODEX, the exercise was challenging and fast-moving, testing teams’ ability to work together and coordinate on the ground. Teams needed to set up a base of operations while ‘victims’ were already arriving for treatment, and then infection control also became a challenge with the outbreak of disease in the scenario.
Along with efficiency and coordination, interoperability is key. The emergency medical teams also coordinated during the exercise with local rescue services like the Italian fire services, essential when they may be required to deploy internationally in a real emergency.
