The Meghalaya State Disaster Management Authority (MSDMA) today conducted a State Level Mock Exercise in all the districts of Meghalaya.
The idea was to understand the state’s readiness and capabilities to cope with a severe earthquake, as the state falls in a highly active seismic zone.
The mock exercise began at 9am with the simulated earthquake registering 7.2 in magnitude.
In East Khasi Hills, the drill was conducted in Shillong in the Polo-Lumjingshai-Urkaliar-Lawmali area. Despite warnings over the previous days about traffic disruption, many members of the public were caught in traffic jams caused by the exercise.
The mock exercise was also carried out in the other district headquarters of Meghalaya, such as Mawkyrwat, Jowai, Khliehriat and Resubelpara, which also saw large scale exercises that drew in wide participation.
The mock exercise was a simulation of the 1897 earthquake and witnessed the participation of district officials, armed forces, paramilitary forces, police, fire and emergency service, hospitals, schools, colleges, NGOs, community members, Bharat Scouts and Guides, Indian Red Cross Society, and various others.
Following its completion, a debriefing session was held at the State Convention Centre wherein Chief Secretary Donald P Wahlang was the chief guest.
In his address, Wahlang congratulated all the stakeholders for the successful conduct of the mock exercise and informed that after a gap of nine years Meghalaya was able to conduct a large-scale exercise. He called upon the MSDMA to conduct such exercises on a regular basis emphasising more localised mock drills and also by involving schools and colleges so as to be fully prepared when any eventualities occur.
Recalling the number of disasters happening around the world at regular intervals, which leads to significant loss of precious lives, he urged all the stakeholders to be ready and use the knowledge gained through the mock exercise to the best of their abilities should any disaster take place.
The Chief Secretary also stressed on the upgradation of the communication services which the Disaster Management Authority presently have in order to bridge the communication limitations and to create a more robust system that will further boost the services of the DMA.
During the debriefing session observations, views, opinions and suggestions were also shared by all the Deputy Commissioners and district observers of the mock exercise.
