To The Rescue
Israeli experts arrived in Nairobi on Saturday, nearly 30 hours after the bombing, bringing sophisticated equipment and techniques to help locate survivors.
Penetrating the Rubble
Rescuers use a variety of listening devices and cameras to search for survivors.
* Cameras and microphones.
Monitor is carried in a frontal pack. Image is transmitted from hand-held SearchCam, a long boom with camera and acoustic microphone on one end. SearchCam can be lowered into cracks and voids.
* Directional microphones
Carried by rescuers as they walk through the building
* Ground-sensing radar
Acts as a sonar mapping tool; can pinpoint the locations of the voids in the rubble by sensing vibrations.
How Pockets Are Created
Voids in the rubble of a collapsed building are often created when a ceiling or wall doesn’t collapse completely and creates a barrier to an isolated space.
* Other rescue methods:
Hydraulic lifters--used to lift heavy beams or chunks of concrete to create openings for rescuers to use in extricating survivors from under the rubble.
Rescue dogs--used to locate bodies
Rotary saw--used for wood and lightweight concrete.
Sources: L.A. City Search and Rescue; Emergency Response & Research Institute
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