US Search and Rescue Teams Depart for Japan

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- At the request of the Government of Japan, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has deployed Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from Fairfax County and Los Angeles County to assist in the rescue effort in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20091022/USAIDLOGO )

The USAR team from Fairfax County has now departed Washington, DC via commercially chartered aircraft.  The flight will stop in Los Angeles to meet that rescue team and then continue on to Japan.  The U.S. rescue teams, comprised of approximately 150 personnel and 12 canines trained to detect live victims, are scheduled to arrive on the morning of March 13 in Misawa, Japan.  Upon arrival, the teams will immediately begin the search for live victims alongside the Japanese and international search and rescue teams.

USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) is already in Japan and working to coordinate the overall U.S. Government response effort.  USAID will continue to provide additional support to the Government of Japan as needed.

For more information about USAID's emergency humanitarian assistance programs, please visit: www.usaid.gov.

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.

Public Information: 202-712-4810

SOURCE U.S. Agency for International Development

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