NDMA conducts table-top exercise on incident response system in Arunachal Pradesh

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: An online table top exercise on Incident Response System (IRS) in case of mega earthquake scenario was conducted on Thursday by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the Union Home Ministry and Arunachal Pradesh disaster management department.

Participants from NDMA, State Disaster Management Authority including deputy commissioners of various districts, District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), SDRF, NDRF, BRO, CRPF, ITBP and other stakeholders attended the programme.

The Table Top Exercise (TTEx) was conducted to assess the capabilities and preparedness of the state to endure any major disaster, find gaps and to address them.

NDMA member Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain stated that despite the ongoing pandemic, it was necessary to conduct training on preparedness regularly as disasters never wait for pandemic to subside which is evident from the recent case of avalanche disaster at Uttarakhand.

He also emphasized on the role of BRO during disasters.

State Disaster Management Secretary Dani Salu presented an overview of the state disaster management plan and state's preparedness on earthquake.

Salu informed that the state has notified Incident Response Team (IRT) to respond to major disasters which, are automatically activated during the event of a disaster. He also commended NDMA for conducting the state level mega mock exercises last year which enabled the state to face the Covid-19 pandemic crisis effectively.

Presentation on the status and preparedness of State Disaster Management Force (SDRF) was given by SP (Fire) Sanjay Bhatia, While state Epidemilogist Dr Lobsang Jampa shared a brief presentation on medical preparedness for earthquake and covid-19 information for first responders, an official comminique informed here.

The Table Top Exercise was then conducted and moderated by Brig. Kuldip Singh (retd.), NDMA. He gave an elaborated presentation on the step-by-step actions to be taken by every stakeholder during the event of an earthquake. He stressed on the roles and responsibilities of each member and the importance of having a dedicated Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) equipped with a robust communication system to efficiently tackle any disaster.

Also Read: Earthquake Of Magnitude 3.3 Hits Kangpokpi, Manipur

Also Watch: Shillong-Guwahati Toll Gate: Toll Tax or Harassment to Commuters?