Nagaland has had her share of natural disasters- earthquakes, landslides, flash floods etc.- in the past. And each disaster continues to frustrate the government and the community. The question now is, how prepared are we to face these disasters, and how well can we recover from them. A few days ago, the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority had initiated and carried out a state-wide mega mock drill, Nagaland Emergency Preparedness Exercise (NEPEx), simulating an earthquake measuring 8.4 magnitude on the Richter Scale. The idea behind the mock drill, it was said, was to generate awareness among the communities and different agencies on how to establish mechanism for effective response to any disaster, particularly with Nagaland being a state that is vulnerable to different natural calamities including earthquakes as it lies on the Seismic Zone V.
Following the mock exercise, top officials of the state were reported to have pointed out a shortfall in the communications system, lack in equipments in district hospitals down to PHCs of basic emergency equipments, manpower in the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), no records in departments on available resources, identification and maintenance of alternative routes (roads) and so on. Adding to these, a top bureaucrat was said to have expressed concern that there is only one functional siren in the state capital in the PHQ, and when it sounded during the mock drill, nobody in the Secretariat Complex heard it. The official had rightly underscored the need to install sirens at strategic locations, taking into consideration the mountainous positioning of our towns.
The most surprising reaction from a government department to the mega mock drill was the report from the Food & Civil Supplies department. The department was reported to have relayed that due to the National Food Security Act, ‘not much elbow-room was there to spare food items’. It is understood that what happened on August 30 was just a mock drill, but will the department issue a similar response in the face of an actual disaster? We hope not. It would be uncalled for otherwise, and inhuman.
On the strengthening of the SDRF manpower, while it is agreed that all the districts of the state must be covered and more manpower needs to be added to the existing ones, the real question is, are the existing SDRF units well equipped?
From what could be gathered during the recent flood situation and even during the collapse of 4th Mile bridge in Dimapur, the search and rescue team from the SDRF are practically ill-equipped, as they were seen going neck-deep into the raging waters without any safety gear. That the state has trained SDRF personnel and they are in position in eight districts is a big step forward, but if they are poorly equipped, who would guarantee their performance and their safety? NSDMA officials themselves admit that the SDRF is their ‘hands and legs’ but in the face of a real big disaster, if the latter is not well equipped, who will save them, and the people? Just because they are trained does not mean they are miracle workers. They still need gears and tools to execute their work.
Currently 3 districts without the SDRF – Longleng, Kiphire and Peren, as there is no district Home Guards & Civil Defence established in those districts yet. Yes, the SDRF is manned by the Home Guards & Civil Defence, the generally perceived underdogs of the uniformed personnel.
During the state level debriefing after the NEPEx, state officials were also said to have stressed on the need for more training and sensitization to strengthen Community First Responders as it has been proven time and again that the communities are the first to respond in any situation involving disasters or accidents. Spot on! Public awareness as well as participation in such mock exercises for sensitization is very much necessary. There is a need for every citizen to feel equally responsible to be aware and keep their homes, towns and villages safe.
Natural disasters cannot be predicted, therefore, the best approach to face any eventuality is to build a disaster resilient society.
Eastern Mirror has reported that the findings in NEPEx is similar to the 2014 mega mock exercise which was carried out in the state as part of the North East multi-state preparedness campaign of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in replication of a possible Magnitude 8.7 Shillong 1897 earthquake. The NDMA observers had then pointed out that the few gaps that need to be reviewed by the state were the communications systems, logistics and resource management system, and that the Incident Response System (IRS) needed to be put into more practice and public awareness programmes needed to be strengthened.
The onus now lies on the state government as to how it will equip itself on the lessons learnt from these exercises.
