By Rinchen Zangmo
To test Thimphu Thromde’s contingency plan and readiness of the stakeholders concerned in the event of disasters, an earthquake simulation exercise was conducted on November 10 in Thimphu Thromde.
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Deputy chief of the Department of Disaster Management’s (DDM) Preparedness and Response Division’s, Sonam Deki, said that the exercise was successful as they could mobilise the responding agencies’ services although there were areas where improvement was needed. “More people need to be trained in the search and rescue team. With about four search and rescue teams, it was difficult for them to reach everywhere. If the earthquake was stronger, then search and rescue teams need to reach more places as more chances of damages are expected. More equipment was also required.”
She said that communication was another area where all agencies involved needed to improve. “There needs to be enough handsets as there are chances of the mobile phone network getting down. More channels also need to be allocated as handsets only work within three kilometres.”
She said that the coordination among the responding agencies could be better. “It was crucial that the instant management team members knew about their responsibilities in detail. With the Instant Commander, which is Thrompon, it was critical of how they commanded and activated services.”
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