STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Assam State Disaster Management Authority, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority, organized a large-scale mock exercise on an earthquake disaster scenario across the state. The exercise was conducted simultaneously at around 30 locations across ten districts—Kamrup, Nalbari, Barpeta, Dhubri, Morigaon, Cachar, Darrang, Goalpara, Bongaigaon and Nagaon—involving over 1,000 stakeholders from various line departments and response agencies.
The mock exercise was held during both daytime and night-time to assess preparedness under different conditions and covered markets, residential areas and hospitals, including Udeshna market complex, Health City Hospital and Garhchuk wholesale market in Guwahati. The drill tested activation of district and state emergency operation centres, deployment of response forces, search and rescue operations and management of earthquake-induced fire scenarios.
The exercise was coordinated by Brigadier Ravinder Gurung (Retd.) of NDMA in the presence of senior ASDMA officials and was monitored through video conferencing. A debriefing session followed to identify gaps and improve coordination, with NDMA appreciating Assam for adopting the Incident Response System in disaster management.
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