A tsunami mock drill was carried out in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday under the aegis of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) and various other agencies to test the institutional preparedness, inter-agency coordination and emergency response protocols in the event of a natural calamity.

The District Disaster Management Authority and Karumkulam grama panchayat jointly organised a mock drill as part of the tsunami-ready programme. The mock drill began at 8.30 a.m. in Kilithattu and Puthiathura wards of Karumkulam panchayat. Emergency measures were initiated following the warning of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services that the water level is likely to rise along the Kerala coast following the 9.3 magnitude earthquake in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

The alert was passed on to the Taluk Emergency Operation Center through the District Emergency Operation Center. The incident response system was activated at the taluk level. The coastal police, fire force, and fisheries departments warned the people in the coastal area through microphone announcements.

The assembly point was St. Nicholas Beach Stage in Puthiathura ward. St. Nicholas LP School in Kilitthat ward was selected as the shelter point. Following the warning, a team comprising police and fire force officials and people’s representatives initiated measures to shift people from the disaster-prone areas to a safe place.

Ambulances and police jeeps were taken to the St. Nicholas Beach Stage assembly point. Local residents, including women, children, bedridden patients and pets, were shifted to the safe assembly point and from there to St. Nicholas LP School, which was the shelter point. First aid facilities and food for the medical team were prepared at the shelter point. Deputy Collector of Disaster Management Department Atul S. Nath led the mock drill. The mock drill, which lasted for about two hours, ended at 10.30 am.

The Tsunami Ready project is a project implemented by the International Oceanographic Commission under the control of UNESCO, the INCOIS, the KSDMA, the Thiruvananthapuram District Disaster Management Authority, the Karumkulam grama panchayat, and various departments. This is an international project that certifies a coastal village as ‘Tsunami Ready’ based on various indicators such as tsunami disaster mitigation plans, maps including evacuation routes, awareness classes, mock drills, etc. This recognition is given by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. Among the regions bordering the Indian Ocean, only two villages in Odisha have achieved this recognition so far.