Preparations on in full swing across Haryana for mock earthquake drill

Chandigarh, December 18: The more climate change effects are overwhelming the earth, natural disasters are also coming in more dangerous form. Haryana will host an earthquake mock exercise for better preparedness on December 21. With 3 days left for the exercise, preparations are in full swing. This is the first State-level Mock Exercise on earthquake covering all districts of the State.

In the run-up to the exercise, NDMA has also conducted division-wise training for State officials on IRS from December 1-15, 2017. The mock exercise will be conducted on the principle of Incident Response System (IRS), which clearly enumerates the immediate tasks that need to be performed once a disaster strikes. It also identifies officers and clearly attributes roles and responsibilities to all stakeholders.

This kind of exercise helps in deconstructing a complex response mechanism thus resulting in a swift and streamlined response. It will also generate awareness among the local population about the Do's and Don'ts to be followed before, during and after an earthquake.

Haryana falls in the seismic zone IV, III, & II. Moreover, tremors have been felt in the State whenever there is an earthquake in the Himalayan foothills due to its proximity to the hill States. Adding to that the rapid industrial-residential urbanization across the State and the importance of being prepared to deal with any eventuality become evident.