Shillong, July 9: In the wake of several earthquakes in the North Eastern Region and also reminding that Meghalaya lies in zone five of the seismic map, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), Meghalaya in collaboration with the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) conducted a mock exercise simulating a major earthquake of magnitude 7.5 Richter scale on 9th July, 2016 at State Central Library, Shillong.
The mock exercise was part of the three day training programme on Incident Response System (IRS) for Incident Response Team (IRT) of East Khasi Hills District. The aims of the mock exercise are to create awareness about earthquakes and to put into practice the Incident Response System (IRS) and for assessing the preparedness of the Incident Response Team (IRT) and other stakeholders in case of a disaster. The mock exercise was also participated by SDRF teams and volunteers from the Indian Red Cross, Shillong and Meghalaya Bharat Scout and Guides.
Earlier, Shri H.B.Marak, Executive Officer, SDMA and Shri P.S. Dkhar, Deputy Commissioner cum Chairman, DDMA, East Khasi Hills District who led the exercise, briefed about the proceedings of the day.
After the drill, a post-exercise analysis was carried out by the Principal Secretary in charge Revenue and Disaster Management, Shri P.W. Ingty and observers of the mock exercise which includes Shri W. R. Marbaniang, former DGP, Dr. P. Medhi, from Military Hospital, Prof. Streamlet Dkhar and Prof. D. Walia from NEHU, and Smti Minimon Laloo.
The observers urged all stakeholders to coordinate their efforts, cooperate with each other and be ready with resources to be able to discharge their duties efficiently. More exercise need to conduct from time to time to create awareness about earthquake and to inculcate preparedness among the community for quick respond during any disaster.
