MARGAO: A Cyclone Disaster mock drill was conducted at Colva beach, Salcete by District Disaster Management Authority, South Goa on Friday. Various departments joined hands to check the preparedness of the Crisis Group in meeting an eventuality of Cyclone and to put in place Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in handling such situations apart from creating awareness among the people of the locality.
In a related development, PWD officials informed Herald that the cyclone alert tower that had been installed months ago, was also made operational on Friday. With an eye on the forthcoming G20 Presidencies scheduled in the State of Goa, this exercise will set the stage for safety and security management for the entire State and also augur well for preparedness and capacity building for the monsoon season.
The objective of this mock exercise was to review the District Disaster Management Plan (DDMP). The other objectives were to evaluate the SOP, which is also available on SDMA website, assess the response mechanism in the district through an Incident Response System, enhance coordination among the emergency support functioning agencies, awareness creation among the officials, public and Central forces such as the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
The exercise started at 9.20 am on Friday with the sounding of siren and awareness by Police and Fire and Emergency Services about the cyclone and lasted for 3 hrs till 12:30 pm.
Mock exercises on various types of natural and anthropogenic hazards help in inculcating a culture of preparedness and generate awareness. This Mock exercise helped the District Administration to assess the preparedness, review the DDMPs, SOPs and to evaluate the readiness of various departments in times of any disaster or emergency.
