State disaster action plan is good, says NDMA official

Correspondent
KOHIMA, MARCH 13

FOLLOWING the Mega Mock Exercise (MME) which was carried out in various locations of the state capital, Kohima on Thursday, an official from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said the state’s disaster management action plan is in place, albeit some gaps that need strengthening.Giving an overview of the exercise, NDMA senior specialist (policies & plans), Dr. RK Dave, who is here as an observer for the MME said the entire drill has been satisfactory. However, he pointed out a few gaps that need to be reviewed in the communications systems, logistics and resource management system. He felt that more frequency is needed in the local wireless communications system and multiple channels need to be opened. Currently Nagaland has only three wireless stations dedicated to disaster management. Dr. Dave also underscored the need for a wireless based electronic warning/alert system in a hilly city like Kohima. He is of the view that Incident Response System (IRS) has to be put into more practice and public awareness programmes need to be strengthened.
Besides the above, the official said the MME preparation, community participation, emergency service functionaries from different departments and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) performance were commendable. “The district and State Emergency Operations Centre activation were also good,” he stated.
Other observers appended that the implementation of IRS, disaster management plans have to percolate to the grassroots levels. They also pointed out that resource inventories need to be updated, as well as the need for more participation of top government officials (HoDs).
“Disaster management is something very serious and we require the presence of top government officials to execute prompt decisions,” secretary to Home (RR&DM-NSDMA), T. Ao said. He also assured that the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) will draw up action plans based on the overview and suggestions of the NDMA observers.
The mega mock drill, an initiative of the NDMA, was carried out as a simulation of the magnitude 8.7 Shillong earthquake which occurred in 1897, so as to assess the adequacy and efficacy of state disaster management plans and state’s preparedness if an earthquake or natural catastrophe of such magnitude is to hit the region again.
Earlier, the state Chief Secretary, Banuo Z. Jamir led a host of other government officials in monitoring the activation of the recently launched State Emergency Operations Centre as part of the MME. The exercise was carried out in five locations in Kohima with the Local Ground (Khouchiezie) as the staging area.

Maiden mock drill 60’ late 

Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, MARCH 13

THE Mega Mock Exercise (MME) conducted here today in Dimapur – the purpose of which was to gauge the stage of preparedness drilled into the Response Team in the event of a natural disaster – was sadly reduced to an occasion of disaster in itself.
The exercise of conducting the rescue act by members of Nagaland State Disaster Response Force in the four designated public places was carried out smoothly and yet more pertinent questions remained.
In a bizarre way, the whole exercise was stripped off its purpose from the very beginning when the Mock drill actually began one whole hour behind schedule. According to official information, the MME was supposed to be carried out simultaneously in five locations in Kohima and four in Dimapur at 11.30 am Thursday.
In one of the designated locations, New Market Dimapur which perhaps was the most congested and strategic of all locations, the make-believe natural disaster in the guise of an earthquake arrived a full-hour too late, at 12.30 pm precisely.
The arrival of masked rescue workers in khaki riding their siren-blazing Gypsy and police bus was met with a collective chorus of derision.
“The earthquake occurred at 11.30 am and they are showing up only now,” as observed by one of the many bystanders gathered inside the market to witness the “mock drill.”
The most pertinent question posed was, “If they are an hour late while enacting a mock drill, then what will be the scenario if and when it is a real disaster?” While the kick-off time in all the locations differed, none registered a start even 20 minutes past scheduled time.
If even a stage-managed disaster situation could throw the well-trained Response Team so widely off the mark, then one only shudders to think of what would be the case in an actual disaster-scenario.
After such an awful lapse in reaction-time, the whole exercise of enacting the rescue activities in front of the public appeared a little inconsequential, regardless of the smooth and flawless performance from the trained Rescue personnel.
In Dimapur the MME was carried out in New Market, PWD colony, GHSS Kuda village, CMO Office/BSNL Office and Hotel Saramati.
While announcing the conduct of MME in Nagaland on March 12 last in Kohima, the NDMA senior specialist Dr RK Dave had said that the objective behind the whole exercise was to review the adequacy and efficacy of the State disaster management plans.
One can only hope that this mock exercise has served in “identifying the gaps” as was expressly stated by the official observer from NDMA.