By The Hindu Bureau
Copyright thehindu
Tsunami drills were carried out at various locations across the Union Territory on Thursday (September 11, 2025) that aimed at testing the institutional readiness, inter-agency coordination, and emergency response protocols in the event of a natural calamity.
The drills, coordinated by the Puducherry State/District Disaster Management Authority and the National Disaster Management Authority, were held simultaneously in all four regions of the Union Territory — Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam.
The six-hour drills that began at 8 a.m. were part of the disaster preparedness initiative of the Government of Puducherry, as per recommendations of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), according to a press note.
In addition to tsunami drills at five locations in Puducherry, simulated exercises to evacuate civilians from high-rise buildings and training to follow public instructions during a tsunami alert were held. The NDMA also conducted a test-run of drones used to rush relief materials, drop advisory leaflets and move safety equipment to the affected areas.
Among the participating agencies were the District Emergency Support Function (ESF) of the government, various departments, National Disaster Response Force, Aapda Mitra, Civil Defence volunteers, members of National Service Scheme, Indian Red Cross Society and National Cadet Corps.
Commandant Aditya Kumar (retd.) and District Collector A. Kulothungan supervised the exercise for which officers of the Indian Army, Indian Coast Guard and NCC were appointed as observers.
At Jipmer, a three-hour drill was coordinated by the Department of Emergency Medicine in close collaboration with the hospital office, nursing section, security and fire services and other ancillary services, Manu Ayyan, Associate Professor at the institute, said in a press note.
The exercise simulated a tsunami alert and the mass evacuation of injured victims to a safe ground. Nursing and medical teams were involved in carrying out mass casualty triage of the evacuated injured patients with the support from fire and safety, security, stores, MRD, Physical Education department and ground staff. Eighty nursing students participated as volunteer simulated patients and their attenders.
The team performed START triaging, stabilised red and yellow zone patients, referred critical cases to higher centres and discharged green zone patients.
The drill tested critical aspects of technical preparedness, including mobilisation of adequate medical facilities for handling disaster-related emergencies, deployment of healthcare professionals across triage, emergency, and inpatient areas, availability and quick response of ambulance services for patient transport. It also evaluated implementation of emergency triage and casualty management protocols and simulated evacuation and rescue procedures within hospital and community settings
Vir Singh Negi, Jipmer Director and Vinod Kumar, Officiating Medical Superintendent, Jipmer, who was the official observer for the drill, emphasised the importance of the exercise in enhancing readiness.
