Tabletop drills for disaster readiness and resilience are organized by OSDMA

Table Top Exercises (TTEx) on cyclone and flood scenarios were carried out on Sunday at the district, block, and ULB levels in an effort to increase disaster preparedness and resilience at all levels. This TTEx is carried out every year with the following goals: to highlight the roles and responsibilities of departments and stakeholders; to assess the sufficiency and effectiveness of the department’s Disaster Management Plans; to improve coordination among various stakeholders for better response; and, if necessary, to identify any gaps in the department’s resources, manpower, equipment, communication, and systems.

The district Collectors and the head of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) presided over the district-level Table Top Exercises. TTEx at the Block level was presided over by the Panchayati Samitis Chairperson. Similar to that, the Mayor/Chairman of the ULB presided over TTEx at the ULB level. In order to witness the drills at the district, block, and ULB levels, state-level observers from OSDMA and the office of the Special Relief Commissioner traveled to several districts.

Line department representatives participated in the tabletop exercises and presented their preparation plans to manage the catastrophe in their respective districts after a fictitious cyclone/flood alert was sent out by the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC). A debriefing about the Table Top Exercise was conducted after that. The finest disaster management techniques and areas for improvement in the general disaster risk reduction and resilience were identified by TTEx.