UNDAC was created in 1993 and currently is composed by 259 national experts in emergency situations, as well as by OCHA personnel and regional and international organizations, including UN agencies.
They are provided free of charge to the disaster-affected country, and deployed upon the request of the United Nations Resident or Humanitarian Coordinator and/or the affected Government.
Assessment, coordination and information management are UNDAC's core mandates in an emergency response mission.
Specifically in response to earthquakes, UNDAC teams set up and manage the On-Site Operations Coordination Centre (OSOCC) to help coordinate international Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams responding to the disaster - essential if USAR assistance is to function effectively.
This concept was strongly endorsed in United Nations General Assembly resolution 57/150 of 16 December 2002, on “Strengthening the effectiveness and coordination of international urban search and rescue assistance”.