The first hours after an earthquake (maximum 72 hours) could be considered as the golden hours for rescuing those trapped under debris. So it is essential to make proper plans for emergency response activities specially search, rescue and relief to use the all potential existing resources in the shortest period of the time for reducing casualties and disabilities that may cause by an earthquake. Such planning needs several prerequisites in different aspects that some of them should be prepared before an earthquake and some of them should be considered after a seismic event. In this paper the necessary issues to be considered for such planning will be discussed by having a look on the experiences gained in Iran's earthquakes in the last two decades. In addition some of the plans developed for promoting preparedness for such activities will be described.
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