A first-of-its-kind multi-State mega mock exercise on tsunami preparedness was carried out along the entire eastern coastline of India.
The simulation exercises were conducted in 35 coastal districts of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry to assess and improve the early warning and response mechanism to mitigate the impact of a high-intensity tsunami, a home ministry statement said.
Representatives from 11 Pacific Island countries observed the exercise for key lessons and best practices to be adopted while preparing for and responding to a disaster situation. The exercise was conducted by the home ministry through National Disaster Management Authority and the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services.
A massive mock drill was conducted on the East Coast by the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) based at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) .
The INCOIS authorities informed that all the all agencies/departments concerned were informed by their deputy conservator, Chennai Port Trust to take necessary action as per their standard operating procedure (SOP) for tsunami with emergency fire service and ambulance kept standby.
Around 8,000 people have participated actively in the exercise with as many as 6,500 people evacuated in Andhra Pradesh itself by A.P. State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) and 10th Battalion of NDRF. People were moved to safe zones in nine coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore.
In Tamil Nadu, from Orurkuppam village around 630 people and around 600 people from villages Panithittu and Madakadi of Puducherry were also evacuated with the help of 4th Battalion of NDRF Arakkonam. In Odisha, all the six coastal districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Ganjam had participated in mock drill, they said.
At villages, the mock drill was to determine appropriate behaviour during tsunamis, areas to be evacuated and associated route maps as well as response and cooperation required with officials for safety measures.
Feedback received was “positive and satisfactory” after the drill with timely messaging, mails and fax improved at most locations though INCOIS was yet to receive full information from all,
Two groups of International observers from Pacific Island Countries containing 10 members in each group were present in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh respectively, to witness the mock drill and were said to be “very impressed” with tsunami preparedness and awareness at community level.
Tamilnadu Districts of Tiruvallur, cuddalore kancheepuram, nagapattinam, pudukottai, Chennai, Villuppuram, thanjavur, thoothukudi, tirunelveli, kanyakumari, Ramnad & Tiruvarur participated in the drill . In this regard a team of CHENNAI HAMS co-ordinated with STATE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTRE at Ezhilakam provising support with both HF and VHF communications support.
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