JOIN USThe mock tsunami with 9.2 magnitude earthquakes in a depth of 10 kilometres under the sea crossed the north-west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, at 6.30 am on Wednesday followed by an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami that struck the coast of South Africa almost after 12 hours.
The re-enactment of the events of December 26, 2004, that played havoc with the countries on the rim of the Indian Ocean was a part of the “Exercise IOWAVE 11” that took place at the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services here. “The drill aims to evaluate the system's operational capacity, the efficiency of communications among the different concerned actors, and the state of preparation of national emergency services,” said INCOIS director Sateesh C Shenoy. During the drill, ITEWC has generated15 tsunami bulletins to both its national and regional contacts through GTS, email, fax, SMS as well as web. The drill was organised under the auspices of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. At the national level, this drill is being coordinated by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The INCOIS warning system is 100 per cent foolproof and never missed a single predictions during the past three years as it is supported with tsunami buoys (that transmit data through satellites) located in the Bay of Bengal and Northern Arabian sea, which are prone to tsunami, tide gauges and seismic centres .
“Unesco will evaluate today’s exercise in November or December to declare India as one of the Regional Tsunami Service Providers along with Australia and Indonesia,” Shenoy said.
Kerala skips event
Kerala did not participate in the nationwide mock tsunami drill held on Wednesday. Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) said the state could not participate as it received the communiqué only on Wednesday and there was no sufficient time for arranging the drill.
The authority secretary said the KSDMA organised mock drills on disaster management on its own. A mock fire drill was held on Wednesday at the state secretariat as part of the nationwide programme. A national workshop on disaster management will be held on October 14, he said.