The Department of Revenue and Disaster Management, in coordination with National Disaster Management Authority, on Wednesday conducted a mock tsunami drill at the coastal hamlet of Nallavadu near here.
At 8.30 a.m, an earthquake with a magnitude of 8. 8 in Sumatra Islands of Indonesia was simulated triggering evacuation of hundreds of people from Nallavadu. The warning was issued by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Hyderabad. The communication stated that an earthquake had occurred at Sumatra Islands at 8.30 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. People living in the villages were alerted though a public announcement system.
The officials advised the residents to move at least 500 metres away from the shoreline and take refuge in a safer area. The mock drill included voluntary and forceful evacuation, clearing of tree branches using earthmovers, and rescue of people trapped in houses and fishermen stranded in the sea.
Officials and staff of the revenue, police, fisheries, health and public works departments were involved in the operation, which was held under the close watch of a team from the National Disaster Response Force, Arakkonam. According to Collector Abhijit Vijay Chaudhary “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.”
Over 200 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 Government Rajiv Gandhi College of Arts and Science.
The evacuation operations began around 10 a.m. and concluded by 1 p.m., the officials said.
