SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA), in association with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted a state wide mock exercise for earthquake preparedness. All 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh participated in the event, which simulated an earthquake of magnitude 8 with its epicenter at Sundernagar in Mandi district. Earthquake is the main natural threat to the state, said Onkar Sharma, Principal Secretary Revenue and Disaster Management.
The exercise began at 8:30 am and the State and District Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs) were immediately activated and members of Incident Response Teams (IRT) reached the respective EOCs.
Sharma said that 112 incident sites were given to districts and more than 2,650 officers along with 833 volunteers from 32 NGOs participated. As many as 836 wireless sets and 62 I-SAT phones were used during the exercise as it was assumed that the landline and mobile phones were disrupted due to earthquake.