Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today stressed the need for strengthening search and rescue capacity, evacuation practices and emergency medical response to improve the overall response to earthquakes. Addressing East Asia Summit Workshop on Earthquake Risk Management in New Delhi today, Mr Shinde also stressed the need for laying down a system for effective coordination of international assistance following the earthquakes. He said a common understanding of the procedures and protocol for the assistance will be a valuable step forward. Mr Shinde said these include system whereby search and rescue teams should get visa and airport facilitation on an immediate basis. Mr Shinde also said that India's scientific advances have not reached a level where earthqyuakes can be forecast with significant degrees of certainty. Earthquakes can only be monitored, so there is need for improving the way construct the buildings. The home minister said building codes with the help of local governments should be implemented strictly.