Mock Drill on Earthquake Conducted at Anand Paradise Multiplex, Port Blair

Port Blair, Apr 18: Mock Drill on Earthquake conducted in the Cinema Hall (Anand Paradise Multiplex), Port Blair on 18.04.2023 by the Directorate of Disaster Management in coordination with District Administration, South Andaman, A&N Police, A&N Police Fire Services, Directorate of Health Services and NDRF by creating real time earthquake disaster simulation scenario and tested the disaster preparedness of the Cinema Hall and response of all Emergency Support Functionaries (ESFS) on safe evacuation, search & rescue and first aid along with medical support to manage the earthquake scenario in the Cinema Hall.
The Mock Drill was successfully conducted under the overall supervision of Dr. Nitin Shakya, Director (DM), A&N Administration. The mock drill was started after receipt of information at the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) from Cinema Theater regarding an incident and staff trapped in the theaters due to the Earthquake. The SEOC disseminated the earthquake incident information of Cinema Hall to DEOC (S/A), A&N Police, A&N Police Fire Services, Control Room of G.B. Pant Hospital and NDRF.
The teams constituted in Cinema Hall have been activated to manage the earthquake situation, emergency evacuation of audience and staff. Search & rescue teams of Fire & NDRF searched all the theaters of Cinema Hall and found 05 staff members trapped in the theaters which were safely rescued and handed over to medical response team of DHS for further treatment and hospitalization. Audience and other staff have been moved to identify assembly/safe areas. Further, the NDRF team searched the entire Cinema Hall and rescued two more staff members trapped in the building and shifted them to G.B. Pant Hospital with the help of the Health department and Ambulance. The Police team cordon off the entire area and maintained law & order and traffic movement.
This was followed by debriefing session wherein the observers of the Mock Drill had explained the findings and gaps of the Mock Drill. The Director (DM) appreciated the efforts of the team of Cinema Hall and other Stakeholders for their active and effective participation in the Mock Drill. He also urged the Management of Cinema Hall to regularly check all safety equipment, update their SOP, emergency contact details and provide DM training to staff of Cinema Hall for their capacity building to cope up any crisis in future.