SRINAGAR: The Divisional Commissioner (Div Com) Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole on Tuesday chaired a meeting regarding Table Top Exercise on Earthquake with officers of NDRF, SDRF, Police, CRPF and HoD’s of line departments.
The meeting was attended by DIG, CRPF; Commanding Officer, SDRF; Dy. Commanding Officer, 13th NDRF; Commissioner, SMC; SSP, Director Health Services, Kashmir; Director Disaster Management, Kashmir; ADC, Srinagar; Chief Engineers of Line Departments; officers of Tourism, Fire and Emergency, Lake Conservation and Management Authority and other departments.
The meeting held threadbare discussion on the Response, Rescue and Rehabilitation preparation plan and strategy to mitigate the damage and loss of lives and property during high intensity earthquakes and other disasters.
Underlining the importance of coordinated and glitch-less communication between departments during a major disaster like earthquake or flood, the Div Com said that communication is the first casualty of earthquake or flood and said that communication technology needs to be strengthened and upgraded.
He stressed that concerned departments need to maintain satellite phones and wireless communication devices to be used for quick response, search and rescue.
The officers held a brainstorming discussion on how to carry out damage assessment at the time of disaster so that resources can be allocated for disaster response and relief operation.
Plan to respond and evacuate people living in affected areas, communication tools to be used to inform common citizens, evacuation plan for stranded passengers, handling of distress calls, district disaster resources network, mitigation of threat of aftershocks, overwhelming capacity of health institutions and checking of rumors were also discussed.
Div Com further directed district administration, Srinagar to loop in imams whose services shall be used to inform and educate people regarding dos and don’ts during earthquake. Also, he said that pamphlets on do’s and don’ts regarding every hazard should be distributed among the imams and heads of other worship places so they educate people on the right time with right information.
Besides, he stressed on identification of open spaces where people could be temporarily shifted at the times of disasters for safety.
He also directed for preparing vulnerable maps for hazards and compilation of details of buildings and structures regarding their strength.
Regarding the assessment of damage due to the earthquake, Div Com stressed on the usage of drones and ground teams for preparing the report of loss.
He also directed all the departments to conduct mock drills to commensurate preparation and response to a disaster.
Meanwhile, experts on the occasion highlighted the need for earthquake resistant buildings and other infrastructure, communication on wheel and communication balloons, so the impact of hazard shall be mitigated.
