Dimapur, Nov. 6 (EMN): Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) under Home Department will conduct an annual Nagaland Emergency Preparedness Exercise (NEPEx) on earthquake disaster scenario of 8.7 magnitude on November 17 to test the capability of the state to respond and manage any mega disaster.
An update from NSDMA informed that the proposed exercise was as per the directive of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under MHA, government of India.
In this connection, the capacity development programme for NEPEx-IRS/ table top exercise (state-level) scheduled on November 11 at ATI has being preponed to November 9, which would be conducted virtually from 11 am to 1 pm by NDMA in collaboration with NSDMA.
The AHoD and HoD concerned have been informed to attend the VC along with the officers of their respective departments/ directorates. The DDMAs are requested to attend the VC along with the DDMA members.
Other participants may also get connected through the link enclosed, it stated.
On November 15, all the AHoD, HoD and the line department nodal officers to NSDMA would participate at the state-level table top conference at ATI, Kohima. Simultaneously, DDMA would also conduct table top exercise in their respective districts along with the line departments and stakeholders on the same day.
Preparatory work for the mock exercise would be carried out at the state-level and in the districts on November 16 and the actual mock exercise-NEPEx at all levels would be conducted on the November 17 at 11 am.
It informed that online reports as well as signed hard copies/ documents by the DDMA should be forwarded to the office of NSDMA, Home Department, by November 25 for further submission to NDMA by November 30.
The DDMA would identify five vulnerable places in their districts as affected sites. The sites would include two schools (private/ government school), a college, a market place and a residential area.
The DDMA would also identify volunteers for acting as casualties and as injured victims and some volunteers might act as people with disability. The DDMA would use trained community and first responder/ Aapda Mitra (trained volunteers) at the village level, wherever they are available for the said purpose.
The DDMA would also identify local inter-agency group (IAG) operating in the districts for coordination and partnership during the NEPEx.
Further, DDMA would identify six observers from the armed forces, CRPF, NDRF, SDRF, police and other line departments as observers to oversee the district NEPEx on November 17.