Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 05 November 2024
The Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is participating today in a large-scale National Tsunami Mock Exercise organised by the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Ministry of Earth Sciences. The exercise is being conducted to mark World Tsunami Awareness Day and is taking place in collaboration with other Regional Tsunami Advisory Service providers and Indian Ocean Rim countries.
The drill aims to test and validate the end-to-end processes of tsunami alert dissemination, message receipt, and inter-agency coordination. It will examine the procedures for issuing Tsunami Bulletins, verifying their receipt, and disseminating alerts through the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), along with district-level Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs) and various control rooms including those of the Port Management Board, Police, Electricity Department, APWD, and Forest Department.
INCOIS will simulate a scenario involving a high-magnitude earthquake near Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, beginning at 9:00 AM. Bulletins will be issued at regular intervals to the SEOC, which will then coordinate with all six EOCs and control rooms to assess the effectiveness of communication channels, operating procedures, and the decision-making process for public alerts and evacuations.
This collaborative effort underscores the commitment of Indian Ocean countries, along with the Union Territory of A&N Islands, to improve preparedness for tsunami threats and safeguard coastal communities through reliable and swift response mechanisms.