Telangana govt conducts first-ever mock exercise on floods and industrial disasters response

Hyderabad, Dec 23 (PTI) The Telangana government conducted its first-ever state-level mock exercise in coordination with the NDMA on the subjects of floods and industrial disasters response in different districts.

Based on the locations of the flood prone areas the exercise was carried out in 12 districts, including Khammam, Warangal, Kamareddy, Nizamabad, Medak, Mahaboobnagar and Hyderabad on Monday.

Similarly, based on the locations of major industrial sites the mock exercise was carried out in five districts (Sangareddy, Medchal-Malakajgiri, Ranga Reddy, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri and Nalgonda) and RGI Airport, Hyderabad, an official release said on Tuesday.

In recent years Telangana has been experiencing unexpected and unexplained climate changes leading to sudden heavy rain fall and flash floods in several parts of the state. Also the state has witnessed few major industrial accidents during recent times, it said.

The main objectives of the mock exercise was to test and further strengthen the preparedness of the state, districts and various departments, to operationalise the incident response systems, to asses interdepartmental coordination and effectiveness of emergency support functions and to have clarity about the roles of SDRF, District Collectors and other agencies, the release said.

These mock exercises helped in improved understanding of flood risk warning signs and emergency procedures. The effectiveness of early warning and communication system was tested and gaps were identified, roles and responsibilities of departments and responders became clearer and better cordinated.

It also highlighted the importance of timely evacuation and identifying safe evacuation routes and shelters, assessed readiness of emergency response teams, equipment, and rescue resources, need for better inter-agency coordination, importance of community awareness and public cooperation during flood emergencies.

Also, there were learnings from the industrial accidents mock exercises such as mutual aid between nearby industries during emergencies, especially fire and chemical incidents, sharing of manpower, equipment, and expertise in reducing response time and losses, need for clear SOPs for chemical leaks, fire, and power failure.

The mock exercises were conducted under the supervision of Telangana Fire, Disaster Response, Emergency and Civil Defence Department Director General Vikram Singh Mann, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lead Consultant Major General Sudhir Bahl, with active participation of various state and central government departments, the District Collectors and volunteers and other agencies, the release added. PTI VVK VVK SA