Bhubaneswar: In order to check preparedness for possible tsunami, the Odisha government today held a mock exercise virtually comprising of administrations of six districts and the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA).

The annual Indian Ocean Wide Tsunami Mock Exercise was held on virtual mode in view of Covid pandemic on occasion of the International Day of Disaster Reduction today.

Odisha Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena informed the tabletop exercise on the aspect of information dissemination about possible tsunami witnessed participation of Collectors of Balasore, Bhadrak, Ganjam, Kendrapara, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts, ADMs, BDOs, Tahsildars, Sarpanches and other concerned officials.

Jena further informed during the mock drill 122 alert siren systems were utilised and voice messages were sent from the State Emergency Operation Centre. Also, messages were sent through email, fax, Whatsapp and other social media to officials at district level and it was ensured that the information reached the people at villages.

The SRC further said international organisation Unesco has accorded the ‘tsunami ready village’ tag to Venkatraipur of Ganjam district and Noliasahi village of Jagatsinghpur district.

As per the Centre’s plans to make tsunami ready villages in East coast and West coast of the country, the Odisha government is taking all possible measures to ensure the same in the state, the official added.

Similar mock drill was held in Andaman sea coast as well.