Mock earthquake, chemical leaks simulated across Delhi
NEW DELHI: A field-level, multi-agency disaster management mock drill was carried out at 55 locations across Delhi and some NCR districts on Friday to assess response preparedness in case of earthquake or industrial accidents.
The exercise began with the triggering of a simulated earthquake scenario at 9.03 am, followed by mock chemical leaks in industrial and transport zones in all the 11 districts of the national capital.
The chief executive officer of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Krishan Kumar, told PTI that it was a “well-planned” exercise at 55 locations across Delhi besides two districts in Uttar Pradesh and five in Haryana.
“The mock drill involved a simulated earthquake and creation of industrial disaster scenarios. It went on smoothly at all the locations. There was feedback of some gaps,” Kumar said, pointing to the vastness of Delhi at geographic and demographic levels.
He said a “major issue” related to earthquake was that some part of Delhi lied on a ridge and some in the Yamuna floodplains that are highly critical zones requiring an enhanced level of preparation.
“Preparedness is the only way to save lives from disasters,” he noted The feedback collected through after action reports will help in updating the state and district-level disaster plans, Kumar said.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in collaboration with the Indian Army and the governments of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh held an ‘Exercise Suraksha Chakra’ earlier this week that culminated with the field-level mock drill on Friday.
The exercise was conducted at 55 locations, including hospitals, schools, Metro stations, and power plants, among others. More than 20 departments, including Delhi Police, fire services, health, revenue, education, MCD, civil defence, Home Guards, RWAs, schools, Metro staff, and market associations were involved
in the process.
In Delhi, the mock drill was focused on validating the Incident Response System (IRS) at state, district, and site levels to test the state emergency operations centre (SEOC) activation and inter-agency coordination protocols, assessing readiness of emergency medical services, fire response units, and chemical leak protocols,
the DDMA said.
It also aimed to test and improve preparedness of the response mechanism, communication systems and coordination between various local authorities and emergency services in the event of a high-magnitude earthquake followed by chemical disaster, it said. During the exercise, the chemical disaster response was simulated at industrial clusters and godowns in selected locations across West, North-East, and South-West Delhi districts.
The emergency operations centre of the DDMA remained operational throughout the mock drill. receiving live updates, media reports, and coordinating with all 11 district-level emergency operation centres.
Field reports and situation assessments were received in real-time via webcasting, mobile teams, and control room coordination, it said.
NDMA’s Brigadier B S Thakar stressed the value of mock drills for disaster readiness. A debrief was held, and DDMA will review after-action reports to identify gaps in infrastructure, coordination, and emergency protocols.
