Every U.S. diplomatic mission in the world has four basic roles in the face of any natural or human-caused disaster:

-- Determine whether U.S. Government response assistance is needed/warranted;
-- Coordinate U.S. Government response efforts;
-- Protect the lives of U.S. citizens in the affected area; and
-- Report on the health and welfare of U.S. citizens in the affected area.

With that in mind, Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs Alfred Schandlbauer was in Lima, Peru December 4-5 to attend a disaster preparedness conference organized by USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA).

Schandlbauer and his colleague Erin Markley have been designated Embassy Montevideo's Mission Disaster Relief Officers, meaning they are the embassy officials who would coordinate the U.S. government response in the event of any disaster occurring in Uruguay. In such a case, they would work to determine how the U.S. Government could most effectively and expeditiously help affected U.S. citizens and the people of Uruguay.

The U.S. has a large number of assets at its disposal for disaster relief, and Embassy Montevideo stands ready to assist should the need ever arise.