South Asian countries will have a common institutional mechanism to tackle disasters with the setting up of the Saarc Disaster Management Centre (SDMC). The centre, the first of its kind in the region, will be inaugurated by home minister Shivraj Patil here on Tuesday. Located within the National Institute of Disaster Management, the centre will act as a nodal point to collect, compile, document and disseminate data and indigenous knowledge and good practices, in the seven Saarc countries.