Shillong, Oct 31: As part of the Multi State Mock Exercise on Earthquake Disaster organized by the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), East Khasi Hills successfully carried out the mock drill simulating earthquake of 8.7 magnitude on the Richter scale today at Polo, Shillong.
During the exercise, the District Emergency Operation Centre (DEOC) was activated under the command of the Responsible Officer, (RO) who is also the Deputy Commissioner of the District, Shri P. S. Dkhar. The whole drill was conducted as per the Incident Response System (IRS) and all the three sections of the Incident Response Teams, Operations, Planning and Logistic Sections were activated and performed their roles.
The whole exercise of evacuation, search and rescue of persons trapped inside the buildings and providing first aid treatment and triage before being shifted by ambulances to different hospitals in the city saw an active participation from all the line departments, Police, Fire and Emergency Services, SDRF, NDRF, BSF, Assam Rifles, Army 101 Areas Unit, Dorbar Shnong Lawmali Pyllun, students, volunteers from Indian Red Cross Society and NSS.
The whole exercise was witnessed by the observers drawn from BSF, 101 Area, GVK EMRI 108 and NEIGRIHMS. After the drill, debriefing sessions through video conference was held simultaneously with all the Districts to evaluate the programme and find out the areas of improvement.
The aim and objective of the Mock Exercise are to review the disaster management plan of the District, to highlight the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders as per IRS and enhance coordination among emergency support functions at District level, generate public awareness by involvement of LGBs, NGOs and community and to identity gaps in resources, manpower, communications and any other field.
It may be mentioned here that the mock drill was conducted simultaneously in all the 11 Districts of the State by concerned District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). A Mock Exercise simulating a disastrous 8.7 magnitude earthquake with the epicentre at Garobadha was held at Ampati Student’s field premises on 31 October 2018.
The Mock exercise was held as part of the Multi State Mock Exercise on earthquake disaster organised by the Meghalaya State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) in collaboration with the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and the South West Garo Hills District Administration to gauge the degree of preparedness and capability of the district machinery and the community as a whole to mitigate loss of life and property during, when and after a disaster strikes.
