The International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) is a network of disaster-prone and disaster-responding countries and organizations dedicated to urban search and rescue (USAR) and operational field coordination. It is a UN Organization that promotes the exchange of information between national Urban Search and rescue Organizations.
INSARAG was established in 1991 following initiatives of international SAR teams that responded to the 1988 Armenia earthquake. The United Nations was chosen as the INSARAG secretariat to facilitate international participation and coordination. The Field Coordination Support Section (FCSS), located within OCHA Geneva's Emergency Services Branch (ESB), functions as the INSARAG secretariat.
INSARAG intends to establish standards for the coordination of earthquake responses.
After an Earthquake in Armenia in 1988. The German Swiss and Austrian SAR Units founded 1991 the INSARAG in Beuggen. Today, there are over 80 Countries of the Organisation.