Following are basic earthquake rescue techniques and tools to help us understand how rescue operations are conducted and what we can do to help; like providing rescue tools such as diamond saw blades like the 911 Demolition Blades (Gilatools) and supporting rescue teams by giving them important information regarding the affected areas.
1. Work with the Locals. Local people often know the best locations to begin the search for survivors. After speaking to them rescue workers can quickly select the most promising place to begin their work.
2. Shifting Rubble. Heavy-lifting equipment is often in short supply, leaving some rescuers little option but to shift rubble by hand or with pick-axes and shovels. Other tools used by rescuers include chainsaws, disc-cutters, diamond blades, and rebar cutters - which can be used to tackle the metal bars in reinforced concrete.
3. Lifting Equipment. Diggers (here pictured in India) and hydraulic jacks are among the heavy machinery that rescue workers employ to shift rubble. Large concrete slabs on the outside of buildings can be pulled aside by diggers, enabling rescuers to get a view of any people still trapped inside.
4. Rescue Dogs. Dogs are extremely effective at using their sense of smell to pick up on signs of life that human rescuers cannot. They are also able to cover large areas quickly, speeding up the search and rescue process.
5. Looking In Strong Buildings. Rescue workers need to be swift to assess where they are most likely to find survivors inside collapsed buildings. Stairwells or the spaces under large concrete beams can provide what rescue workers call 'voids'. It is in places like these that the living can be found.
6. Checking Weak Buildings. Many of the buildings in Haiti are made of flimsy materials. Buildings like these are quick to collapse in an earthquake but their lightweight and low height can give people a relatively good chance of getting out.
7. Listening for Survivors. Specialist sound equipment can detect the faintest of noises to within a few metres. Silence on the site is needed while a member of the rescue team bangs three times and hopes to hear a response. Carbon dioxide detectors can be used to find survivors rendered unconscious. They work best in confined spaces where they detect the greater CO2 concentration in the air exhaled by those still breathing.
