HPSDMA conducts mega mock drill to deal with magnitude 8 earthquake

A mega mock drill to deal with a magnitude 8 earthquake was held Thursday with an assumed epicentre in Mandi district’s Sundernagar, an official spokesperson said. The exercise was held by the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA) with the support of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the official spokesperson said.

He said representatives from all 12 districts of the state participated in it. Principal Secretary (Revenue and Disaster Management) Onkar Sharma said the magnitude of the earthquake was kept high as the state fell in seismic zones IV and V.  The scenario was developed with the technical support from the NDMA and the IIT-Mumbai and Madras, he said.

The drill started at 8.30 am. Onkar Sharma said district-wise scenarios were given. As many as 2,650 officials, along with 833 volunteers from 32 NGOs participated in it.

Sixty-two I-SAT phones and 836 wireless sets were used during the exercise, he added.