Dhaka, 27 October:- Disaster Response Exercise and Exchange (DREE) is an earthquake disaster related exercise which is conducted in Bangladesh since 2010. This year Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR), Armed Forces Division (AFD), and United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) are jointly co-hosting the event which started in Dhaka on Sunday (27-10-2019). Dr. Md Enamur Rahman, MP, the Hon’ble State Minister, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief has attended the opening ceremony as the Chief Guest.
Main objectives of this exercise are : Test and enhance own ability of managing earthquake disaster at City Corporation Level through establishment of Disaster Incident Management Team (DIMT) focusing SAR, communication(DRECS), medical, shelter, relief, etc, Enhance knowledge and practice of international tools and services for integration of international system into national system and Train divisional level planners/disaster coordinators (military and civilian), so that they can arrange similar exercise/training at divisional/local level.
DREE is the largest earthquake disaster related exercise in the Asia Pacific region. The exercise will be conducted from 27 October to 31 October 2019 simultaneously in Dhaka and Rangpur. This year the theme of DREE is Resilience through Preparedness.
The exercise will begin with a two-day Subject Matter Expert Exchange where there will be series of presentations by Subject Matter Experts. This session will set the scene for Table Top Exercise (TTX). In the 3rd day an earthquake scenario in Bangladesh will be depicted. Participants will be divided into various functional groups for TTX. The TTX will be focused to bring out the challenges and recommendations for strengthening various Disaster Management frameworks as a whole and Disaster Incident Management Team (DIMT) in particular.
All theoretical discussions during TTX will be exercised through a massive Field Training Exercise on the 4th day which is planned in Basundhara Residential Area ‘L Block’. During FTX, personnel will be deployed in the field to test operational efforts associated with earthquake response. All stakeholders for earthquake management will be integrated in the exercise. Major events of the FTX will include search and rescue, fire fighting, aero-medical evacuation, logistics management, camp management, human remains management etc.
On the last day of the exercise, there will be after action review, based on various functions. The exercise will terminate with the closing ceremony.
The Hon’ble Prime Minister, Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has given her kind consent to grace the closing ceremony as the Chief Guest.
Mr. Md. Tajul Islam, MP, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Local Government Division will observe the FTX as the Chief Guest.
More than 500 Participants from 237 different organizations will be participating in DREE Bangladesh 2019. The number of participants will be around 1200 during the FTX. Moreover, over 100 participants from more than 20 countries are also joining this exercise. Such exercise will enhance earthquake disaster management of Bangladesh and also improve regional cooperation for disaster response as a whole. DREE Bangladesh 2019 with the theme Resilience trough Preparedness will definitely be a land mark event in capacity building of Disaster Management in Bangladesh.
