Notes from Nepal: Is There a Better Way to Provide Search and Rescue?

Abstract This article discusses a possibility for overcoming the limited efficiency of international search and rescue teams in saving lives after earthquakes, which was emphasized by the recent disaster in Nepal and in other earthquakes all over the world. Because most lives are actually saved by the locals themselves long before the international teams arrive on scene, many more lives could be saved by teaching the basics of light rescue to local students and citizens in threatened countries. ( Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness . 2015;9:650–652)