Earthquake mock exercise in Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will conduct a mock exercise on earthquake preparedness tomorrow in Tripura, Nagaland and Mizoram, the agency said in a statement.

"The exercise, which is being held in collaboration with the respective State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs), will help participating agencies and stakeholders in evaluating the effectiveness of their disaster response plans," the release said.

The exercise is significant as the participating states fall under seismic vulnerability Zone-V, it added.

"The mock exercise will be followed by a detailed debriefing session, where gaps and shortcomings, if any, for improving preparedness, will be discussed.

Independent observers will be deployed to monitor the entire exercise," the statement said.

In the run-up to the exercise, orientation-cum- coordination conferences were held on April 12, 2018 with different stakeholders at the respective state capitals for working out the detailed modalities and preparations required for the mock exercise.

"NDMA experts briefed the stakeholders on the Incident Response System (IRS), which attributes roles and responsibilities at each level to improve coordination. This helps enhance preparedness and ensure a swift response by reducing adhocism in response," the release said.

NDMA has so far conducted over 600 mock exercises across the country.