: Visitors to the Fort Kochi beach on Friday afternoon had the shock of their lives when a loudspeaker mounted atop a speeding police vehicle suddenly announced a tsunami alert. Panic spread as the police blocked the roads leading to the beach. However, they calmed down soon when it dawned on them that it was a pre-arranged tsunami mock drill carried out under the watch of Fort Kochi Sub-Collector S. Suhas.
The drill, which lasted for almost five hours from 1.30 p.m., helped the District Disaster Management Authority to assess its preparedness to face an emergency.
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The tsunami alert was simulated based on a warning passed on from the State Emergency Centre in Thiruvananthapuram that an earthquake in Pakistan would trigger tsunami waves along the Fort Kochi coast. Immediately, Mr. Suhas, the nodal officer of the mock drill, convened an emergency review meeting even as an official delegation led by district panchayat president Asha Sanil rushed to the Sub-Collector’s office.
Soon, rescue teams arrived. As the national tsunami warning centre alerted that tsunami waves triggered by the earthquake in Pakistan at 12.30 p.m. would lash the coast by 3 p.m., the Fort Kochi coastal police started evacuating the beach. Members of the State disaster response force also reached the spot even as tsunami waves ‘lashed; the beach around 3.15 p.m.
Eight villages were “devastated” in the tsunami. Revenue, police, and State disaster response force carried out the rescue operations under the leadership of Captain Varghese Mathew. Soon, the Navy also joined the mission.
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Navy commandos ‘rescued’ a local resident and a beachside trader who got caught in a tsunami wave even as the Coast Guard’s speed crafts searched for more victims in the sea.
The local people also joined the rescue operations.
Real-time response
The mock drill aimed at ensuring a real-time response in the event of a tsunami witnessed the participation of 15 helicopters of Navy, three boats and a Dornier aircraft of Coast Guard. The delay in the arrival of ambulances to take the rescued to the hospital further ‘heightened’ the tension.
The injured were rushed to Ernakulam General Hospital where an emergency wing was opened as soon as the tsunami alert was received. Mr. Mathew briefed the media after the first two phases of rescue operations.
This was followed by the final phase of rescue operations to trace victims isolated in the tragedy. Navy commandos moved the remaining people to shelters. Health Department officials reached the spot and took precautionary measures.
A post-drill review meeting held at the Sub-Collector’s office expressed satisfaction about the disaster response preparedness.