Disaster response system tested

Department of revenue and disaster management conducts mock drill

Quick response: Satyendra Singh Dursawat, Collector, supervising the ‘rescue and relief work’ at Panithittu in Puducherry on Friday.

The department of revenue and disaster management, under the supervision of observers from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Disaster Management Authority, conducted a mock tsunami drill at the coastal hamlet of Panithittu near here simulating the effects of a tsunami caused by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean.

The warning was issued by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Hyderabad. The communication stated that an earthquake of 8.8 magnitude had occurred at Nicobar Islands at 9.30 a.m. followed by a warning of a potential tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

On receiving the alert, the department of revenue and disaster management immediately swung into action and special teams were mobilised to the coastal areas for evacuation.

NDRF monitors drill

Officials and staff of the revenue, police, fisheries, health, public works departments and private medical colleges were involved in the operation, which was held under the close watch of a team from the fourth battalion of the National Disaster Response Force, Arakkonam. According to a senior official, “This is an annual mock drill held in the coastal villages to test the readiness of the district administration to an emergency and gauge its ability to take remedial steps. This drill aims to assess and help improve the preparedness, response mechanism and coordination among agencies concerned.”

The people living in the villages were alerted through a public announcement system mounted on a vehicle. The officials advised the residents to move at least 500 metres away from the shoreline and take refuge in a safe area.

Over 2,000 people in houses situated within 100 metres of the coast were evacuated as part of the drill. Alerts were given to people prior to the operation and the residents were shifted to a relief centre at the Ambedkar Government Higher Secondary School.

The evacuation operations began around 10 a.m. and concluded by 1 p.m., the officials said.

The preparations were made to mitigate the disastrous effect of tsunami waves expected around noon as per warning.

The exercise in the mock drill included announcement, voluntary and forceful evacuation, clearing of tree branches using earthmovers, and rescue of people trapped in houses and fishermen stranded in the sea.