ITANAGAR, Nov 23: To assess disaster response mechanisms in place, a state level mock exercise on earthquake disaster scenarios was carried out across all districts of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday. The exercise was conducted by the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
During the exercise, a 7 Richter Scale earthquake scenario with epicentre at Tuting, Upper Siang district was enacted which resulted in many injuries and deaths across the state. Accordingly, a siren was blown at 9 AM, at five specific sites, assuming massive destruction of road, buildings, communication, immediate action, and business continuity check was done by incident response teams (IRT) across the districts as well at the State level. Situation reports from the districts were collected through satellite phones, emails, and WT Message. Personnel from NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army, CRPF, ITBP, BSF, Police, Assam Rifles, etc were used in the search and rescue operation of victims. NGOs, community volunteers, AAPDA Mitra, Self Help Group, civil societies also actively participated in the mock exercise.
Major General Sudhir Bahl (Retd), Sr Consultant, NDMA, Govt of India, who coordinated the overall event, highlighted the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders as per incident response system, disaster management plans, emergency support functions, public awareness, and identified gaps. Terming communication as the backbone of effective response, he advised the State to use the HAM radio-based communication system and satellite-based system. Other aspects highlighted were the importance of regular liasoning with defence personnel beforehand for resource and manpower support during times of disasters. He requested all the districts, line departments especially the health department for preparation of Disaster Management Plans and Hospital Management Plans.
During the debriefing, DDMAs were asked to share inputs on areas for improvements, and suggestions from districts.
The debriefing session was also attended by Dani Salu, Secretary Disaster Management; Komkar Dulom, Director Disaster Management and observers from NDRF; Eastern Air Command, Shillong; Fire Officer from Airport Authority of India; CISF and NCC.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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