Sri Vijaya Puram, March 16: As per the directive of the Chief Secretary mandating quarterly mock drills across all Departments of A&N Administration, the Directorate of Disaster Management, A&N Administration organized an Earthquake and Fire Mock Drill at the Directorate of Agriculture, Sri Vijaya Puram on March 13. The exercise was conducted in coordination with the District Administration, A&N Police, Health and Fire Departments to evaluate the Department’s preparedness for emergency situations.

The drill commenced at 11 am with a simulated earthquake and fire scenario, following which the Agriculture Department teams carried out safe evacuation, search and rescue operations and provided first aid to the injured. The communication team promptly alerted the State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC-1070), District Emergency Operation Center (DEOC-S/A-1077), Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112), and other line Departments, including Fire, Police and Health for necessary assistance. Fire tenders and ambulances arrived swiftly to manage the situation and provide medical aid.

A debriefing session was held at 11.30 am to review observations and identify gaps for improvement. Officials from Disaster Management, Police, Fire, District Administration and Health Departments emphasized the need for basic disaster management training for all Agriculture Department teams and staff to enhance their response capabilities in emergencies.