Thiruvananthapuram: A mock drill was conducted as part of ‘Tsunami Ready’ programme in Kilithattu and Puthiyathura wards of Karumkulam grama panchayat from 8.30am to 10.30am on Saturday.The drill, jointly organised by District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and Karumkulam grama panchayat, aimed at strengthening disaster preparedness, evacuation procedures and inter-departmental coordination in the event of a tsunami.The exercise was initiated following a simulated warning from Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (Incois) that sea levels along Kerala coast could rise after a magnitude 9.3 earthquake off northern Sumatra in Indonesia. The warning was relayed from the district emergency operations centre to the taluk emergency operations centre, following which the incident response system was activated at the taluk level.Coastal police, fire and rescue services and fisheries department personnel then issued warnings to residents in vulnerable coastal areas through public-address systems. Police and fire personnel, along with elected representatives, began evacuating residents from the identified risk zones.St Nicholas beach stage in Puthiyathura ward was designated as the assembly point, while St Nicholas LP School in Kilithattu ward was identified as the shelter point. Ambulances and police vehicles were deployed at the assembly point to facilitate the evacuation.Residents, including women, children and bedridden patients, were moved first to the assembly point and subsequently to the shelter at St Nicholas LP School. The mock evacuation also included the relocation of pets. First-aid facilities, medical teams and food arrangements were made available at the shelter.Deputy collector (disaster management) Athul S Nath led the mock drill. Following its completion at 10.30am, a debriefing meeting was held at the panchayat office to assess the response and identify areas requiring improvement.Panchayat president Pushpam Vincent, block and grama panchayat members, Neyyattinkara tahsildar Saji R S, DDMA hazard analyst Devika B S and officials from revenue, police, fire and rescue, health, motor vehicles, fisheries and local self-govt departments participated in the exercise. Representatives of coastal police, civil defence volunteers and Aapda Mitra volunteers were also part of the response teams.Tsunami Ready programme is an international initiative implemented in collaboration with Unesco’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Incois, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, Thiruvananthapuram DDMA, Karumkulam grama panchayat and various govt departments.
