Egatt natural disaster

The natural disaster of Egatt, Lacaille 3D, Lacaille system.



This is the story of the Egatt disaster as I lived it. It isn't a thorough narrative or the event, but, instead, a sum up of the Urban Search and Rescue operation, as I saw it.

On december 26th, 2306, at around 0625, a massive earthquake occured, in the northern hemisphere of Lacaille 3D, hitting over 10% of the planet. The exact magnitude of the disaster is unkown, but several cities and hubs were severely damaged, and many people were injured, trapped, or killed.

Having the USAR-2 qualification (Urban Search and Rescue), and as I was stationed in the system at the time, I was sent as part of the Fleet humanitarian aid, requisitioned by the Emergency Management Bureau. As petty officer second class, and USAR-2, I was leading an USAR team of seven men (all of which where certified USAR-1), under the command of a USAR unit leader (holding the USAR-3 certification).

This is how, on december 26th, 2306, we landed on a very ravaged world, at around 2100. We were part of the first wave of rescuers sent to the planet. With my unit (3 teams of 8, plus a command and logistic team of 6, which means we were 30 men and women), we were assigned to the now-phantom town of Egatt, located straight above the epicenter of the earthquake. Our primary mission was, among other teams, to search for any survivors, first, on the surface, then, under the piles of rubble. Meanwhile, another team, sent jointly by the EMB, the fleet, and the IHS, was tasked to establish a field hospital.

We have only found few survivors on the surface, as most were buried alive, or trapped, under the debris. After 6 hours of work, at around 0400, on december 27th, once we completed our sweep of the surface, we started digging in the debris, out of which we pulled many persons, some were alive, some were not. I will always remember the face of those we found conscious, their gaze were showing us how relieved they were feeling. Their gaze, and their smile were really rewarding for me, and, I believe, for most of my us. We kept working on the site for hours, until 2200 (25 hours after we landed). At this time, while searching in the rubbish, one of my men and comrade slipped, and fell through a hole, 10 meters bellow. The accident was mainly caused by tireness, which resulted in an attention drop. During the rescue of my comrade, I, myself, failed to control the rope meant to secure me, and falled as well. This second incident was, indeed, the result of my tireness, and precipitation. Following this, I have been taken, with the other casualty, to the field hospital, where I have been treated for severe burns on the hands, as well as for a shoulder dislocation. I also underwent a vascular reconstruction of my ulnar artery, which was severed during my fall.

After 3 hours of break, my team was spreaded through the other teams of the unit, in order to reinforce them. They kept working for another 12 hours, before handing the job over to the dedicated EMB teams, slowly arriving from the whole SCG space. The unit I was assigned to saved 156 lives, out of 289 persons recovered, over the course of 42 hours.

I still remember these events very well, may it be for the good moments, or for the bad ones. While it has been tough, I am very proud to have been part of such an operation. It has been very formative, and I learned a lot, both on technical and on human matters.


PO2 Alex Lemius
SCG 4th Fleet
Damage Control Specialist
Urban Search and Rescue Specialist