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southasiadisasters.net February 20162

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Cities are complex urban systemswhich harness the synergies

among individuals, infrastructureand institutions for achieving humanwelfare. However, during disastersand emergencies the coordinationbetween these stakeholders in a citygets extremely strained.

The Indian state of Assam is highlyprone to disaster and climate risks.A burgeoning population andhaphazard planning further drive upthe vulnerability of Assam's citiesto such risks.

This issue of Southasiadisasters.netfocuses on the theme of EmergencyManagement Exercises (EMExes) inAssam. The Assam State DisasterManagement Authority (ASDMA)recently organized a series of EMExsacross several cities of Assam. Theobjective of such exercises was tobring together various actors suchas state and regional emergencyresponders, educational institutions,hospitals, health care professionals,humanitarian agencies, governmentdepartments, non-governmentorganisations, civil societyorganisations and professionalsfrom emergency management-related fields - to assess the cities'disaster preparedness and resilience,acquire new skills for emergencymanagement and mass casualtyevents, and to develop a multi-disciplinary, inter-stakeholder,coordinated response duringemergencies.

This issue highlights the recentlyheld EMExs from the various citiesof Assam such as Guwahati, Nalbari,Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Dhubri,Sibsagar, Darrang, and Sonitpur.Preparedness and coordination arecrucial for an effective response toemergencies. Read on to know moreon how these EMExes are helping ininculcating a culture of preparednessamong the first responders todisasters in Assam's cities.

– Kshitij Gupta, AIDMI

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I am happy that the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) hasdedicated an issue on the Emergency Management Exercise (EMEx) in

Assam. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been closelyassociated with various initiatives of Assam State Disaster ManagementAuthority (ASDMA), particularly focussed on Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) and Mitigation. It is heartening to see that since 2012, the ASDMA hasgraduated on to conduct of EMExs at District level. Considering thevulnerability of Assam to multi-hazards, these exercises have enabled greaterawareness of the community and enhanced capacity of agencies and variousforces responsible for response.

While attending the GEMEx 2015, I was happy to see the zeal and enthusiasmof the people, particularly the youth. Table Top Exercise conducted as part ofGEMEx validated the Incident Response System (IRS) which has been adoptedby the ASDMA. Collaborative support extended by AIDMI to ASDMA andall DDMAs to conduct Table Top and EMExs in various districts has indeedenhanced DRR and mitigation capacity of all stakeholders. I am sanguinethat such initiatives will contribute towards making Assam disaster resilient.

– Lt Gen NC Marwah, PVSM, AVSM (Retd)Member, National Disaster Management Authority, New Delhi

February 14, 2015

Preface

Guwahati Emergency ManagementExercise (GEMEx)

His Excellency Mr. Traun Gogoi, Honourable Chief Minister of Assamand Chairman of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority

(ASDMA) addressing the jam-packed crowd of participants from 11 differenttraining tracks during the inaugural ceremony of GEMEx 2015. His ExcellencyMr. Bhumidhar Barman, Honourable Minister for Revenue and DisasterManagement, Mr. V.K Pipersania, Honourable Chief Secretary, Governmentof Assam and other dignified guests paying attention to CM’s inauguraladdress. The All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) being partner ofGEMEx 2015 and also a facilitator of ‘School Disaster Preparedness’ track,joined the initiative to build the city disaster preparedness and also measurethe impact from GEMEx 2012 to GEMEx 2015. – Mihir R. Bhatt, AIDMI

southasiadisasters.netFebruary 2016 3

PREPAREDNESS

Journey from 2012 to 2015: A Sincere Effortin Improving Preparedness for EmergencyResponseThe recent misery visited to the

residents of Chennai byunprecedented flooding highlightsthe fragility of India's urban centresto the vagaries of nature. Ailed byhaphazard urban planning, rampantencroachment of ecosystems forconstruction purposes and anunbridled increase in population,India's cities have been renderedextremely vulnerable to climate anddisaster risks. Climate change hasenhanced this vulnerability evenfurther.

Sustainable urban developmentechoes in the agenda of all the majorhumanitarian commitments finalizedin 2015. These include the SendaiFramework for Disaster RiskReduction (SFDRR), SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) and now

the recently agreed global climateactions during the Conference ofParties 21 (COP21). However, thecommitments in these globalframeworks can only be achievedthrough local actions. This is becausedisasters are local and the result ofsuch global initiatives must translateinto improved resilience at local levels.

Building urban resilience at the locallevel is a broad policy objectivewhich can neither be achieved norgauged through isolated initiatives.There is an inherent need for over-arching initiatives that enhancepreparedness and improve localemergency response in India's cities.

Emergency Management Exerciseshave been one such tool whichcontributed in increasing the levels

of preparedness for effectiveemergency response. EMEXs weredeveloped to promote awareness ofurban disaster risks and to examine,test, evaluate, and assess a city'semergency/disaster responsecapabilities. It was hoped that thiswould allow the system's strengthsand weaknesses as well as the areaswhich need additional capacity-building to be identified, ultimatelyleading to the overall improvementin managing disasters andemergencies. It was also hoped thatbringing together the various keyagencies involved in emergencymanagement would enable them tonetwork, coordinate and work moreeffectively.

EMExes are the latest installment in aseries of successful emergency

"Disasters have become really uncertain the way climate change is affecting their frequency and intensity. I believethis Emergency Management Exercise is the need of the hour to keep our system prepared for any uncertain catastrophe.Guwahati has grown to become the giant urban centre for the North-East. However, being in seismic zone V, ourdevelopment is always at risk and we must keep ourselves prepared to face any eventuality in future."– His Excellency Mr. Tarun Gogoi, Honorable Chief Minister, Government of Assam, during the Inaugural Ceremony of GEMEx, 2015


training initiatives devised by theUnited Nations DisasterManagement Team in conjunctionwith the National KnowledgeCommission of India, the Universityof Mumbai, the All India DisasterMitigation Institute, and the HarvardHumanitarian Initiative. These were:training in disasters and mock drillsfor the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital(2007), a conference in emergencymedicine (2007), organized jointlywith the New York-PresbyterianHospital and Hinduja Hospital), andProject Mumbai Voices (an on-goingproject organised since 2006 to collectthe voices of survivors fromterrorism incidents in Mumbai).EMEXes as city wide exercises wereconducted in some of the mostdisaster prone cities Mumbai (2008,2010), Chennai (2011), Delhi (2012),Guwahati (2012) etc.

Localizing EMExes–The Assam ContextGuwahati, the capital of North-eastern state of Assam in India haswitnessed its first EmergencyManagement Exercise in 2012 andsince then the State localized thisexercise as its DRR strategy. Theimpact of this citywide exercise wasso powerful that it appealed to thepolicy makers and politicalleadership of the state as the need ofthe hour for the state and resulted ina series of EMExes in various citiesand towns of the State. The GEMEx,2012 was a large success in terms ofcollective action, participation, andcreation of learning opportunities.Inspired and energized by active and

decisive response during the GEMEx,2012, it was decided that such exercisesshould be conducted repeatedly in thecity and commitments were made tore-organize such an event in nearfuture. Moving further down scalingthe modalities, the state also tookfurther interest in covering up othermajor cities and district headquartertowns in a phased manner. Thus, fromNovember 2012 till December 2015,the Assam State DisasterManagement Authority successfullyorganized several EMExes in citiesand towns including Jorhat (2013),Silchar (2013), Dibrugarh (2014),Nagaon (2014), Barpeta (2015) andBongaigaon (2015).

The second such exercise in the cityof Guwahati was organized recentlyfrom 14th to 18th December 2015 tokeep this movement of urban riskreduction alive. This was an eventlocally organized and nationallyfacilitated involving faculties fromdifferent expert institutions. This five

day long exercise covered elevenparallel training tracks on themes likeschool disaster preparedness, searchand rescue, hospital emergencypreparedness for doctors, emergencymanagement planning for hospitaladministrators, emergency nursingcare, public health in emergencies,industrial and chemical disasterpreparedness, minimum initialservices package, coordination ofresponse for senior governmentofficials, orientation training forengineers on earthquake safety andcommunity based disastermanagement. These tracks coveredmore than 800 participants fromdifferent institutions coveringengineers, doctors, police, SDRF, Fireand Emergency Services, educationalinstitutions, community leaders,humanitarian agencies andgovernment officials.

This was again a unique opportunityfor the city to test its state ofpreparedness and to fill up the gapsidentified during previous EMEx in2012. This exercise provided yetanother opportunity for theemergency responders, hospitals andadministration to improvecoordination of response forminimizing losses during anydisaster. This exercise has resulted inidentifying areas of improvement foreffective preparedness and profoundresponse to any city levelcatastrophe. – AIDMI Team

"I must congratulate Assam for being aleader in organizing EMExes in India. Ihave asked other states of the North-Eastto join GEMEx, 2015 to learn how theseevents are organized by Assam StateDisaster Management Authority and toreplicate the same in their own states."

– Lt. General N. C Marwah,Honorable Member, National Disaster

Management Authority, during theinauguration of Field Drill of GEMEx, 2015

"I am thankful to Assam State DisasterManagement Authority for successfullyorganizing this mega event. We mustacknowledge that Guwahatis' development ishaphazard and is vulnerable to disasters likeearthquake, landslides, floods, storms etc. Wemust find out whether our buildings can surviveearthquakes, whether our roads will allow rescuevehicles, ambulances, etc. to move after any

disaster. This is a real worry and this exercise is the best way forward to testour existing preparedness and gaps for being able to meet any catastrophein future." – His Excellency Dr. Bhumidhar Barman,

Honorable Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management, Government ofAssam, during inauguration of field drill of GEMEx, 2015


CHILDREN AND DISASTERS

Child Centered DRR–The Thematic Focus inGEMEx 2015

targeted to yield high relevance tothe context of the EMEx and the roleof educational institutions, teachersand department for ensuring effectivedisaster response throughpreparedness.

It was emphasized that theparticipants recognize andunderstand their roles in a city levelcatastrophe in ensuring safety ofschool children, coordination withresponding agencies, the DEOC etc.Participants were also shownsuccessful stories of preparedresponse resulting in reduction of lossof lives using audio-visuals.Participants were also active insharing experiences and respondingto queries raised in the mid of sessions

Involvement of children broughtanother insight into the training onthe third day. A house filled withmore than 50 children from acrossdifferent schools representingdifferent age group and levels ofunderstanding, was unique in itselffor an important event. They werealso given basic conceptualunderstanding and background, wereinvolved in working out hazard,vulnerability and capacities of theDon Bosco School and were alsogiven orientation on conduct of mockdrills. What made the children morelively and involved was the conductof mock drill practical. This wasunique since the children not onlylearnt some basic skills andknowledge but also used it in practice

Two students presenting the findings of Vulnerability assessment of Don Boschoschool during third day of training of School Disaster Preparedness at GEMEx,2015.

A couple of themes were givenspecial attention during the

recently concluded GuwahatiEmergency Management Exercise(GEMEx). Just like in its previousversion in 2012, children wereincluded as key stakeholders inGEMEx 2015 as well. AIDMI, whichleverages the experience andcommitment to uphold the rights ofchildren to a safe life was againinvited by GEMEx organizers tofacilitate the school disasterpreparedness training track.

The school disaster preparednesstrack was re-designed in this EMExto three days course where teacherswere participants for the first two daysand children were involved duringthe last day of the training. This wasa unique opportunity for the teachersand students to explore the domainof school safety with specialemphasis upon emergency response.AIDMI used its decade long expertisein structuring the module for GEMEx2015 which has lessons and reflectionsfrom previous EMExes particularlyfrom those held in Guwahati.

Around 80 teachers from differentschools of Guwahati along withrepresentatives from the departmentof education were taken throughparticipatory and activity basedjourney of technical sessions whichincluded concepts and backgroundbuildings; conduct of participatoryhazard, vulnerability and capacityassessment of Don Bosco school (thetraining venue); school disastermanagement planning process;success stories from model SDMPimplementation in schools ofGuwahati; conduct of mock drills; firesafety protocols (by State Fire ServiceOrganization) etc. The sessions were


URBAN RESILIENCE

Scaling Down the Idea of EMExs in Districtsof Assam–the Approach of ASDMA

Emergency Management Exercises(EMEx) are a week-long series of

trainings and workshops that aredesigned to explore and strengthenthe emergency response systems inIndia's disaster-prone cities. It bringstogether a variety of actors in disasterand emergency management – Stateand regional emergency responders,educational institutions, hospitals,health care professionals,humanitarian agencies, governmentdepartments, non-governmentorganisations, civil societyorganisations and professionals fromemergency management-relatedfields – to assess the cities' disasterpreparedness and resilience, acquirenew skills for emergencymanagement and mass casualtyevents, and to develop amultidisciplinary, inter-stakeholder,coordinated response duringemergencies. The state of Assambeing a multi-hazard state and all the

27 districts are vulnerable either toearthquake, flood, erosion,landslides, urban flood and stormsbesides various manmade disasters.Entire Northeast region falls underseismic zone V making the entirestate prone to earthquake of moderateto very high intensity. Assam has ahistory of disasters ranging fromlarge earthquakes to severe floods.This has impeded the developmentgains of the state by many times.Moreover, majority of the populationof the state is vulnerable to perennialfloods& landslides every year duringmonsoon season. This calls for theneed of conduct of such EMExs so asto respond effectively in any type ofeventuality and to minimize thelosses.

Since 2008 EMExs have been held inMumbai (2008, 2010), Chennai (2011),Delhi (July 2012) and Guwahati(October-November, 2012). The

Guwahati Emergency ManagementExercise was organized incollaboration with NDMA – Govt. ofIndia, UNICEF and number of leadinghumanitarian institutions andinternational faculties. GEMEx 2012involved approx 1500 persons fromvarious responding agencies, districtadministrations and faculties of 15training tracks. This was acclaimedto be the first ever mega-exercise ofthis type conducted in North-EastIndia after Mumbai and ChennaiEMEx. Looking at the ability of theEMExs in building strength andcapabilities for emergency responseduring disaster &emergencysituations, there was a felt need ofspreading out effective disasterpreparedness to other major urbanlocalities & towns of the state. In thisview, Hon'ble Chief Minister andChairperson, State DisasterManagement Authority (SDMA)directed ASDMA to carry out similar

to get hands on experience. Childrenwere able to visualize and respondto catastrophic event through themock drills.

The overall training was perceivedsuccessful both on the part offacilitators and participants. Feedbackfor the track as summarized based onparticipants and facilitators'responses include the following:

1. Strengths of the training track:a. All the topics discussed are very

important for school.b. Experts are excellentc. Audio visual aid and

presentations were objective andappealing as well as very muchrelevant to the theme

2. Areas of Improvement:a. Require more practice with

teachers as hands on willimprove skills

b. Quality of food should be improved

3. Recommendation for futureEMExes:

a. More training should beprovided for teachers capacitybuilding and the support shouldbe continuous and not limited toonly one event

b. Time of the training should beincreased both for teachers andstudents

c. Practical sessions should bemore for teachers

Involvement of children would bekey in any such future event.

Children are no doubt among themost vulnerable if disasters arelooked at, however, theirinvolvement in preparedness willsignificantly contribute tominimizing risks to disasters. Thisinitiative sets an example of childcentered DRR gradually gettingmainstreamed through concertedefforts of the authorities. AIDMIthrough facilitating the three daystraining track re-affirmed itscommitment to uphold child's rightto safety and involving children asagents of resilience building. Infuture events, AIDMI will emphasizeon balancing time between theoryand practices and should also workout an overall increase in durationfor both teachers and students.

– AIDMI Team


exercises in all the major towns ofAssam. Therefore, as a follow upaction of Guwahati EMEx 2012,ASDMA conducted EMEx in Jorhat(April 2013), Silchar (November2013), Dibrugarh (February 2014),Nagaon (September 2015) andBarpeta (February 2015). In December2015, EMEx has been repeated inGuwahati city in order to test the gapsthat were identified on the firstGuwahati EMEx in 2012. Other thanGEMEx 2012, all other EMExs wereconducted with the help of theRegional & National level resourceswith the support of agencies andinstitutions like NDMA, Doctors forYou, AIDMI, Academy of Trauma etc.

Though there are several reasonsstated by various agencies for conductof EMEx, but U.S. Department ofEducation cited seven mostcomprehensive purpose for conductof EMEx viz. i) Clarify the roles andresponsibilities among variousagencies, ii) Evaluate plans andprocedures to be followed by theresponding agencies, iii)Development of effective agencyrelationships and coordination, iv)Assess resources and capabilities, v)Promote school and communitypreparedness, vi) Comply with Statelegislations and last but the mostimportant vii) Identify gaps, needs

and solutions during emergency likesituations.

Community participation has beenrecognized as the necessary elementin disaster management (Lodhi &Mazumdar, 2009) as communities arethe first responders in any kind ofemergency and community basedapproach for disaster managementcan act as a key element to envisagebetter management strategies(Victoria, 2002). Recognizing theimportance of involvement of moregrass root level officials of districtadministration and other district levelinstitutions, in 2015 ASDMA hasfurther downscale the EmergencyManagement Exercises (EMExs) in 10selected districts of the state viz.Bongaigaon, Nalbari, Lakhimpur,Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Sivasagar,Sonitpur, Darrang, Dhubri andKarimganj. The initial four districtshas already completed EMEx till firsthalf of January 2016 and remainingwill complete that by the end ofFebruary 2016.

In this 10 district level EMEx, eighttraining tracks were introduced to theparticipants' e.g. i) HospitalsPreparedness & EmergencyManagement (2 day), ii) Mass CasualtyHandling for Nurses & Paramedics(2 day), iii) Search and Rescue (3 day),

iv) School Disaster Preparedness (2day), v) Water & Sanitation (1 day),vi) Rescue Operation for Cattle &Carcass Disposal (1 day), vii)Managing Relief Operations &Communication during emergency (1day), and viii) Safe Buildings (1 day).It is important to note that in thesedistrict level EMExs, the resourcesupport was mostly from the statelevel resource persons of variousorganizations and institutions. Thestate of Assam has adopted theIncident Response System (IRS) in themonth of May 2014 as the code forresponding to any disaster in state anddistrict level. Therefore, since NagaonEMEx (September 2014) the responseduring field drill were practiced basedon the IRS principle and so will be donein the remaining district level EMExs.

It is important to note that during anytype & scale of disaster or emergency,local community and grass root levelfunctionaries are the first responders,therefore their involvement in somecomponents of EMExs are crucial.Therefore, downscaling the EMExs tothe district level facilitate inmitigating those gaps. It will also helpdistrict administration and DistrictDisaster Management Authorities(DDMAs) to develop new skills foremergency management andhandling mass casualty events inmore effective manner. It will alsofine tune the approach of DDMAs towork together to develop a multi-disciplinary coordinated responseduring localized disasters andemergencies.

– Kripaljyoti Mazumdar,Project Officer, Assam State Disaster

Management Authority (ASDMA),Assam Secretariat, Dispur, Assam

References:Lodhi, M.S. and Mazumdar, K. (2009).

Living with hazards and dealing withdisasters in Arunachal Pradesh.ENVIS Bulletin: Himalayan Ecology.17:19-20.

Victoria, L.P. (2002). Community Baseddisaster management in Philippines:Making a difference in people's life.United Nations PublicAdministration Network (UNPAN).


HOSPITALS AND PREPAREDNESS

GEMEx, 2015: Learning Emergency Ways ofWorking of the Public Health Work ForceThe main objective of sustainable

public health system is topromote and maintain a healthierpopulation even under the constraintsof an emergency situation. Butmaintaining public health inemergencies is very critical asdisasters can have both direct andindirect impact on the health careservices of a community. First, apartfrom mass casualties, disasters candamage the structural aspect of thehealth system (infrastructure,resources) creating barriers of accessto health services. Second, postdisaster situations can lead to severea threat to public health of thedisplaced population as theconsequences of the breakdown ofhealth facilities, water supplies andsanitation systems.

The role of the public health workersduring the immediate phase of anemergency is limited yet crucial.Timely, well planned and well-coordinated public healthinterventions are decisive in reducingmortality, morbidity and disabilityand to restore the delivery of, andequitable access to, preventive andcurative health care as quickly aspossible and in a sustainable manner.With better preparedness andplanning, the severity of disasters onpublic health can be reduced.Immediate access to guidance andinformation on public health inemergencies is essential for the publichealth workforce in rapidlyestablishing priorities of undertakingnecessary actions during the responseto an emergency or disaster.

Capacity building and disasterpreparedness trainings pertaining tothe issues of public health inemergencies will build the capacity

of the health care providers and willinstill a heightened insight into thepreparedness and response phase ofany disaster. As part of the disasterpreparedness and capacity buildingprocess the District DisasterManagement Authority inassociation with Assam State DisasterManagement Authority (ASDMA),organises a district level 5 daysEmergency Management Exercise(EMEx) to test the real time interagency communication andcoordination with all agencies,departments and stakeholders. InDecember 2015, the city of Guwahatihosted EMEx for the second time withtrainings in 8 different tracks.

Public Health in Emergencies (PHiE)was one of the most important tracksin GEMEx 2015. The training of PHiEtrack was conducted by Doctors ForYou. The training was scheduled fortwo days and it covered some of themost crucial aspects and issues ofpublic health arising duringemergencies, i.e. Rapid needassessment, emergency ways ofworking, managing reproductivechild health services duringemergencies; Minimum Initial ServicePackage (MISP), outbreak investigationand management, and measles androutine immunization duringemergencies. The training objectivewas to provide orientation andsensitization to practical aspects ofpreventing and controlling outbreaksin emergency situations. Topics likepublic health promotions duringemergencies, water, sanitation andhygiene and addressing the needs ofthe vulnerable groups providedvaluable insights to the participantsfor the table top stimulation exercise.

GEMEx 2015, accumulated a wide

range of participants in PHiE tracki.e. the Public Health EngineeringDepartment (PHED), NGO's workingin the field of public health, Socialwelfare department and students.However absence of participantsfrom the health departments i.e.ANM/GNM, ASHA, Vaccinators,Pharmacists, health educators; MPW'sand Nurses from governmentmedical hospitals and health centreswas one profound gap that waswitnessed in the exercise.

One major achievement of GEMEx2015 was to Leverage local resourcesin organising and implementingvarious phases of five days exerciseincluding trainings, facilitation of thetable top exercise and mock drill. Theutilisation of local resources not onlyproved to be sustainable and costeffective but it also provided aplatform for the participant to buildcoordination with other departmentsand clarified the roles andresponsibilities of the concerneddepartments involved in response inemergencies.

GEMEx provided an opportunity forthe participants of public health trackto accomplish extensive theoreticaland practical orientation on publichealth issues. The exercise also servedas an excellent platform for thesignificant stakeholders of publichealth workforce to apprehend andexperience the emergency ways ofworking in a strategically well-coordinated approach andencouraged community participationof the public health workers indisaster risk reduction strategies.

– Sunny Buragohain andBarnali Singha, Program

Coordinator, Doctors for You NEROOffice, Guwahati


CASE STUDY

Redefining Ownership–School Based DisasterRisk Reduction a Reality in Axom Jatiya VidyalayTime has seen enormous

evolutions. New ideas came andensured their established regimethrough reality tests. However,wonders are always clickable anddelightful for the readers. Again, attimes certain ideas when are delayedresults tend to lose their attention inthe timeline. There are many suchideas and concepts in the realm ofdisaster risk reduction which havefaced this challenge and came strong.In the light of the above let us reviewthe following story.

Axom Jatiya Bidyalay, a vernacularmedium school in periphery ofGuwahati city in the state of Assamhas a story that can inspire thousandsuch schools in India and beyond.School based disaster risk reductionwas accepted for the first time by theschool in the year 2013 when it wasselected as a part of a pilot project byAssam State Disaster ManagementAuthority to plan and implementschool based disaster risk reductioninitiatives. The project wasimplemented by AIDMI on behalf of

ASDMA in the year 2013-14. TheSchool conducted its risk assessmentfor the first time in 2013 and wassupported to prepare acomprehensive school disastermanagement plan based on the riskassessment conducted. The school wasalso supported with initial capacitybuilding of teams formed as part ofthe plan. The identified non-structural mitigation measures werealso implemented by the schoolwhich included fixation of vulnerableassets, evacuation planning, clearingof evacuation routes, conduct ofevacuation drills etc. The activitieswere also thoroughly documented.

The above is a statement ofbackground how the school wasinducted with the concept of schoolbased DRR. Till the project period theactions of the school were guided andsupported. However, it has beenalmost two years since the project wasover. The real validity of the idea ofpiloting school based DRR came tobe witnessed when AIDMI revisitedthe school to see the present status in

January, 2016. The process of schoolsafety initiated by project partnersnow is a school mandate. The schoolmanagement lead by the schoolpresident had initiated a host of stepssince the project completed. Any newvisitor the moment s/he enters theschool can see the visible steps takenby the school management. Now,each floor of the multi-storiedbuilding has visible evacuation mapand routes in place. Emergencytelephone numbers (police, firebrigade, hospitals) are displayed inthe entrance and opposite to thePrincipal's room. Recently, the schoolmanagement has connected the entirebuilding with fire fightinginfrastructure like water hose pipeparticularly at vulnerable places likethe kitchen, printing press etc. Theschool already had fixed thevulnerable tools and assets whichcould have been devastating duringthe earthquakes. These fixed assetsand tools recently successfully passedtwo tests during the Gorkhaearthquake (25th April, 2015) andManipur earthquake (1st January,


CASE STUDY

When Disaster Reduction Becamea Reality–the Story to Share

Evidence is always useful when it is brought to the lime light. The DisasterRisk Reduction community always had spoken about the reduction of

vulnerabilities which are difficult to be eliminated. This story depicts howschool disaster risk reduction has shown its impact. Ayya Vidyapith HigherSecondary School. It was a school which lies in low lying area suffering fromfrequent water logging in summers. As an old provincialized school of thetown, the school has an old building. Being part of the ASDMA and AIDMIjoint pilot on school based DRR, the school implemented certain measuresaddressing its vulnerabilities. One such measure was addressing the exposureof the school infrastructure to fire hazard. Thus, school placed certain numbersof fire extinguishers at identified vulnerable locations in the school whichwere identified during the school safety audit and school risk assessmentprocess. The placing of extinguishers was followed by demonstrations toteachers and students along with other non-structural measures that weretaken in the school.

In February, 2015, during the time when school was operational, an electricalshort-circuit gave rise to a fire incident which was noticed immediately. Asper the emergency response plan of the school, the classes were immediatelyevacuated and the responsible team members effectively used the fireextinguisher placed near the place of Incident which avoided a big tragedyand loss. The students who frequently practices evacuation drills were alsoactive and disciplined in the evacuation process. Thus, this pro-active andtime bound response of the school avoided a big disaster from happening.The school no doubt is endowed with water logging which is the first priority.On which a host of technical and financial limitations affect the school fromimplementing strong measures considering the location of school and itsfinancial capacity, fire safety measures were not compromised and thus adisaster was reduced to nothing. It sets an ample example for such institutionswhich tend to ignore or de-prioritize low frequency hazards over the frequentones. – Anand Prokash Kanoo, AIDMI

2016). The school has internalized theidea of planning as its core committeeon disaster management meets onregular interval and takes crucialdecisions related to safety. It was byvirtue of this seriousness thatconsiderable investment has beenmade from the school developmentfund to improve safety aspects. Theschool has also established a state ofthe art early warning communicationsystem under which speakers areplaced in each floor at multiplelocations. Crowd management hasreceived central attention in theschool since they conducted their firstevacuation drill in January, 2014.Since then, the school regularlypractices regular mock-drills. Theschool library is equipped withknowledge products on do's anddon'ts for different disasters and thechildren are guided and motivated toread those books. On the whole, anatmosphere has been created wheresafety and preparedness are of centralvalue in the school. The school haspotentially become a model for othersto follow and the biggest differenceis that the school management hasowned the process and areImplementing planned actions. Sincethe school has its own publication andtext book division, efforts are on forincluding DRR at different stages ofthe school curriculum.

The AJB provides a real example ofhow the idea of school based disasterrisk reduction can be owned by aschool while maintaining balancebetween academic excellence andsafety of children. This school isoffering a safer environment not onlyfor the children to study in but alsoto contribute at their respectiveperipheries be it in their homes,neighborhood and communities.Though, this is not the end and stillmany more to come, every action inplanned manner is enhancingchildren's safety and providing theschool with new scope for learningand development.

– Anand Prokash Kanoo, AIDMI


NALBARI EMEx

Making Emergency Preparedness 'Walk theTalk'–Mission EMEx of Assam Reaches NalbariAssam, the north-eastern state of

India has really mastered theart of taking disaster risk reductionas a policy priority in the State. Aftersuccessfully completing theGuwahati Emergency ManagementExercise from 14th to 18th December,2015 which was the eighth in a row inlast three years, the state movedrapidly to initiate the ninthemergency management exercise inyet another district headquartertown. The Nalbari EmergencyManagement Exercise (NalEMEx) wasorganized from 19th to 23rd Decemberby District Disaster ManagementAuthority (DDMA) of Nalbari inassociation with Assam State DisasterManagement Authority. The AIDMIwas invited as a technical resourceagency to support the conduct of theEMEx.

This five day long EMEx was morelocalized and district centric wheregreater impetus was given to theestablished Incident CommandSystem (ICS) of the district. It hadeight parallel training tracks dividedacross themes namely; SchoolDisaster Preparedness; EmergencyNursing Care and ComprehensiveTrauma Life Support for Nurses andParamedics; Hospital EmergencyManagement for Doctors;Coordination of Relief forgovernment officers and communityorganizations like VLMCC; Trainingon Safe building Construction;Training on livestock managementduring disasters and carcass disposal;Training on Search and Rescue forPolice, SDRF, SFSO etc. and Trainingon Water, Sanitation and Hygiene(WASH) for Public Healthfunctionaries. These training trackswere carried out at different venuesfrom 19th to 21st December. A Table

top simulation was organized on22nd followed by field drill and hot-wash on 23rd December, 2015.

AIDMI's Role in Nalbari EmergencyManagement Exercise, 2015AIDMI had established its distinctreputation in India as co-organizer ofemergency management exercises.AIDMI had been one of co-foundersfor initial EMExes in India and hadsince then grown as a leadingtechnical agency to support suchexercises. The DDMA, Nalbari invitedAIDMI to provide technical supportin facilitation of the School DisasterPreparedness track in particular andoverall exercise in general. Having acommitment to advocate for childcentered DRR, AIDMI strived to theoptimum extent possible in makingthe NalEMEx child centric. Theteachers training was a crucial step inthis direction. In two days duration,teachers were given theoretical andpractical orientation to understand,plan and initiate school safety anddisaster preparedness activities witha child centered approach. The

training focused on buildingconceptual knowledge, planningskills, real time response experiencethrough mock drills. It was indeed ajoint learning experience. The distinctfeatures of the training were asfollows:1. Presence of Inspector of School,

Sub-Inspectors of school andDistrict Project Officers of RMSAand SSA of Nalbari throughoutthe training course. Theparticipation of such decisionmakers, administrators,monitors and evaluators enabledpractical discussion on issuesrelated to coordination andpreparedness. This provided agreater platform for advocatingchild centered DRR at local levelinvolving local decision makersand planners.

2. The teachers were attentivethroughout the training durationwhich enabled pledges to initiatechild centered DRR initiatives inschools. Each participatingteacher had given onecommitment on initial actions

NalEMEx was inaugurated by His Excellency Dr. Bhumidhar Barman, HonorableMinister for Revenue and Disaster Management, Government of Assam.


that will be taken in his/hercapacity after the training forpromoting children's safety inschool and for preparing theschool for effective emergencyresponse.

3. The teachers had shown activeinterest in audio-visuals usedduring the training which werelater shared with them for use inclassroom teaching learningprocess. The teachers were alsoprovided reference materialsdeveloped by AIDMI inAssamese (local) language.Overall the interest andassociation with the topic wasseen among the teachers.

AIDMI as Observer in NalEMExBeyond facilitating the training onschool disaster preparedness, AIDMIalso supported the conduct of Table topand field drill. AIDMI was requestedby the DDMA to act as observer inthe accident site created for the fielddrill. The observations made by AIDMIas observer include the following:

Successful accomplishments inresponding to the accident:• Reaction to the action was very

smooth, timely and carried outsincerely

• Rescue team was active andhandled the situation well

• Medical team also respondedstrongly

• Time gap was minimal for therescue operations to begin

• Almost a real like situation wascreated and public were made totake the incident seriously

• Management of traffic post-accident was good and smooth

• Triage area was created alongwith rescue operations

Major observations related to areasof improvement:• Response of Police was limited

to smoothening of traffic. Therewas a lack of effective crowdmanagement on site, resulting in

difficulty in rescue and triage. Itwas recommended that Policeshould see cordoning off theaccident site as a priority toenable smooth rescue operations.

• Triage confusion was visible.First patient taken to theambulance was without triage.More practice at hospital levelwas recommended so as toimprove field triage for effectivemanagement mass casualty.

• The road was not cleared till11.33 am even after 18 minutesof the incident. The Police mustkeep time as a factor and shouldenlist site specific priorities tofast track normalcy

Accident site where a goods carrier truck collided with a public career van.

• The Paramedics didn't keeprecord of triage at the initialstage. Documentation is alsoessential for mass casualtyevents

• Coordination gap was visiblebetween the Police and rescueforces. The two forces must workin close coordination and shouldunderstand and cooperate witheach as per SoPs.

Overall, the exercise was successfulin highlighting many important areasfor district to work and improveupon. The participation from allsegments was energetic and regularwhich motivated the experts also to

Time Sequencing of Response ActionsSequence Time Time Gap

Accident 11.12 am

Police arrives on site 11.17 am 5 minutes

NDRF arrives on site 11.16 am 4 minutes

1st two Ambulances arrive on site 11.16 am 4 minutes

1st two Ambulances leave for hospital 11.24 am 12 minutes

3rd Ambulance arrives 11.37 am 25 minutes

3rd Ambulance leaves for hospital 11.40 am 28 minutes

4th Ambulance arrives on site 11.41 am 29 minutes

4th Ambulance leaves for hospital 11.43 am 31 minutes

5th Ambulance arrives on Scene 11.43 am 31 minutes

5th Ambulance leaves for hospital 11.45 am 33 minutes

6th Ambulance arrives on site 11.49 am 37 minutes

6th Ambulance leaves for Hospital 11.51 am 39 minutes

Rescue completed 11.53 am 41 minutes


LAKHIMPUR EMEx

Lakhimpur EmergencyManagement Exercise (LEMEx),2016

POEM

Disasters

Disaster! Disaster! Disaster!You are never welcomed!

Because you are terribly dangerousYou spare none!You know none

You have no kith and kinYou have no relatives.

No bigger, no ferocious animalcan challenge you

But it is strange that some animalscan sense you!

A dog in Galle refused to takemorning walk,

Moreover report about fewanimals' casualty comes to view

Oh you disasters!

Any form of you- we welcomenone of you

We, the trained teachers shallmake our efforts

We will reduce risks to ourchildren's lives and others,But, we never expect you,Oh you terrible disaster!

– Md. Rafiqul Islam,Subject Teacher (English), Govt.

Gurdon HS School, Nalbari

work hard. The DDMA will have tocapitalize the learning and shouldwork to integrate and improve itsoperation on recommended areas.Assam is ready to host another eightEMExes in the coming few months indifferent districts and AIDMI iscommitted to extend all possiblesupport in this endeavor of makingAssam prepared and its childrensafe. – AIDMI Team

Background Lakhimpur is a multi-hazard

prone district in the state of Assam. Itis exposed to the risks of floods, heavystorms, earthquakes, fire accidents,food poisoning, boat capsizingbesides bomb blasts. It falls underseismic zone V making the entiredistrict very much prone toearthquakes of moderate to very highintensity. Apart from this hazard thedistrict also faces acute floods everyyear. The district has a history ofdisasters ranging from severe floodsto bomb blasts which have been amajor impediment to the economicdevelopment of the state.

Thus, to sustain the pace ofdevelopment by minimizing thelosses from disasters, the DistrictDisaster Management Authority(DDMA) had organized theLakhimpur Emergency ManagementExercise (LEMEx) to identify thepotentialities and the gaps of thedistrict while performing against anyemergency situation. This exercisenot only tested the potential of thedistrict hospitals and doctors, but alsoprovided them training on how to

tend to the sick and wounded duringdisasters and emergencies.

About the Lakhimpur EmergencyManagement ExerciseThe Lakhimpur ManagementExercise which was held from 2ndJanuary to 6th, 2016 January was a fiveday long exercise. The first three dayswere kept for 8 training track viz. SafeBuilding, Hospital EmergencyManagement for Doctors, Search andRescue, School Disaster Preparedness,Water and Sanitation, Rescueoperation for cattle, Managing reliefoperation and mass casualties. Thefourth day was kept for table topexercise and the fifth day was keptfor field drill followed by 'hot wash'and a valedictory session.

Objectives of the LEMEx1. To harness the strength and

capabilities of district levelemergency responders such aseducational institutions, hospitals,wings of civil administration asthey prepare to meet a majorcatastrophe in the district.

2. To examine the level ofpreparedness of the responding

Mr. Debeswar Malakar, IAS, Deputy Commissioner cum-Chairperson DistrictDisaster Management Authority, North Lakhimpur addressing the participantsfrom all training tracks during the inaugural ceremony.


agencies, institutions and hospitalsto tackle with an emergencysituation in the district andidentify the existing gaps alongwith the needed improvement.

3. To test in real-time the inter agencycommunication and coordinationespecially the Incident CommandStructure, its various agencies andcitizen groups

4. To push the hospital responsesystem through the drill to identifyand prioritize care during anydisaster to maximize the savingsof life and limb, under duress.

Training Tracks in LakhimpurEmergency Management ExerciseA total of eight training tracks werecarried out in LEMEx with supportfrom various subject experts fromspecific fields. All the tracks werefacilitated by both national and localinstitutions. These tracks wereconducted in different venues withinthe district. Out of which the All IndiaDisaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI)facilitated the school disasterpreparedness track. A total of 378participants participated in thesetrainings. Track-wise numbers ofparticipants are given in the table-1.

Table Top ExerciseThe table top exercise on the fourthday was organized in Lakhimpurindoor stadium where the table topsimulation was facilitated by Mr.Kripal Jyoti Mazumdar, project office,ASDMA. All the participants of eachof the track were made to sit together

in a circular manner according to thetraining track. There were total twoscenarios presented whereparticipants from eight tracks sharedtheir response against the scenario.

Field DrillThis field exercise was designed totest the response procedure andincident command system. This fielddrill was organized at two sites, oneat the PNGB School and another oneat the district library. Firstly, a majorearthquake scenario was simulated atthe district library followed by firesimulation at the PNGB School ofLakhimpur town at 11.21 am. Duringthe course of this simulation, 21injured people were rescued fromPNGB School site by NDRF, SDRF andwere sent to two of the pre-identified

hospitals. The responses intheir totality were observedby observers placed atspecific locations.

Hot-wash and ValedictoryThe final part of the LEMExwas the hot-wash eventwhich was organized atDistrict library. Theobservers from incident site,ICP and Hospitals sharedtheir observations. Fewcomments of observersregarding the field drillwere cited below:

"Firstly I congratulate to DDMA forsmoothly and successfully conductedthe mega drill at Lakhimpur district.Areas were well selected for stagingarea. There was lack of coordinationamong the ambulances. Ambulanceswere rushed to the incident pointwithout receiving any informationfrom staging area. They were a bitconfused where to go and where not".

– Mr. Basant Kumar,NDRF Observer at Staging area

"I found gaps in coordination in thefirst phase and also there was lack ofcoordination among the responseteam and medical team. There waslack of crowd management. I alsoobserved that initially yellow andgreen tagged patients were sent tohospitals prior to red tagged patientsbut apart from this paramedics hadmaintained well documentations ofpatients. At last I would like tocongratulate all to participate of thisdrill".

– Sunny Buragohain,Observer at District Library

In the valedictory session,participants were handed over acertificate of participation and DDMAexpressed its gratitude towards all ofthem.

ConclusionOverall it was an excellent initiativetaken by the DDMA to createawareness among the people aboutDRR and resilience building. Suchkind of exercises played a critical rolein identifying our lacunas in thecontext of disaster, which will helpin improving situation andrecovering the gaps to deal withemergencies. But the DDMA alonewill not be able to protect the districtfrom any kind of emergencysituation, it is also the responsibilityof all the departments to tackle thesituation together in order to fightback with any kind of disastroussituation. Better response will dependupon the follow up actions to fill thegaps identified at the end of the megaexercise. – Sonali Das, AIDMI

Table-1. Participation in different trainingtracks of LEMEx, 2016

Track Number ofParticipants

Safe Building 29

Hospital Preparedness 24

Search and Rescue 93

School Disaster Preparedness 62

Water and Sanitation 74

Rescue operation for cattle 46

Managing relief operation 60

Mass Casualties 83

Children presenting the findings ofjoint HVCA exercise during thetraining at Inspector of school,Conference Hall at Lakhimpur district.


DHEMAJI EMEx

Dhemaji Emergency Management Exercise(DEMEx), 2016Background

A weeklong preparedness andemergency management exercise,"Dhemaji Emergency ManagementExercise (DhEMEx)" was held inDhemaji between January 8th toJanuary 12th, 2016. The exercise wasdesigned to harness the strengths andcapabilities of the district emergencyresponders, educational institutions,hospitals and humanitarian agencies,etc. in their effort to meet any possibledisaster in the district.

The program involved a week longlearning and capacity buildingexercise with seven parallel tracks atdifferent venues of the district. Variouslearning tracks being included inDhEMEx were, School DisasterPreparedness, Emergency NursingCare and Comprehensive Trauma LifeSupport for Nurses and Paramedics,Hospital Emergency Managementfor Doctors, Training on Safebuilding, Construction, Training onlivestock management duringdisasters and carcass disposal,Training on Search and Rescue, TrainingWater, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)for Public Health functionaries.

Overview of DhEMEXThis initiative was planned by theASDMA to conduct 10 emergencymanagement exercises in ten differenthazard prone districts in the State ofAssam. The first three days wereplanned with training on seven tracks.During the fourth day, all the trainedparticipants came together for atabletop exercise followed by a majorincident- simulation drill on the fifthday. A debriefing session called"Hotwash" along with a Valedictorysession was conducted on the fifth day.

Objectives of the DhEMEx1. To harness the strength and

capabilities of district levelemergency responders such as

educational institutions, hospitals,wings of civil administration asthey prepare to meet a majorcatastrophe for the district.

2. To test the state of preparedness ofresponding agencies, institutionsand hospitals to deal with a majordisaster in the district andidentification of areas where gapsexist and improvement is needed.

3. To test the real-time inter agencycommunication and coordination,especially the Incident CommandStructure, its various agencies andcitizen groups.

4. To push the hospital responsesystem through the drill to identifyand prioritize care during anydisaster to maximize the savingsof life and limb, under duress.

MethodologyThe DhEMEx was conductedfollowing a pre-definedmethodology set out by the AssamState Disaster Management Authority.This includes the conduct of paralleltraining followed by a table top andfield drill. This was locally organizedby the District Disaster ManagementAuthority of Dhemaji with minimumexternal support. While a few oftraining tracks were facilitated byexternal expert agencies, the entireevent was locally sourced. The fielddrill was designed as a real-timescanner involving actual institutionsand real like scenarios. Efforts were

made to resemble a realistic pictureso as to enable actual assessment andfulfillment of the intended objectives.

Training TracksThere were a total seven trainingtracks devised for this exercise whichwere organized from 8th to 12st

January 2016. This included:1. School Disaster Preparedness2. Emergency Nursing Care and

Comprehensive Trauma LifeSupport for Nurses andParamedics

3. Hospital Emergency Managementfor Doctors

4. Training on Safe buildingConstruction

5. Training on livestockmanagement during disasters andcarcass disposal

6. Training on Search and Rescue forPolice, SDRF, SFSO etc.

7. Training on Water, Sanitation andHygiene (WASH) for PublicHealth functionaries

Table Top SimulationAfter the conduct of the three daystraining on several seven tracks allthe participants of the various trackswere brought together for a Table Topexercise. The exercise was facilitatedby Mr. Mridul Deka and Mr. AnandProkash Kanoo where severalsimulated scenarios of emergencieswere given and asked the participantsof different tracks to respond the

Mr. Victor Carpenter, DeputyCommissioner-cum-Chairperson,DDMA, Dhemaji, said "We mustunderstand and functionalise ourIncident Command System to dealwith any eventuality. It is not about asingle disaster like flood that we dealwith every year, but, about acombination of unexpected andbrutal events. We must be preparedand this EMEx is a strong stepforward in this regard".


Editorial Advisors:Anshuman SaikiaRegional Programme Support CoordinatorARO, IUCN (International Union for Conservation ofNature), Thailand

Denis NkalaRegional Coordinator, South-South Cooperation andCountry Support (Asia-Pacific), United NationsDevelopment Programme, New York

Ian DavisVisiting Professor in Disaster Risk Management inCopenhagen, Lund, Kyoto and Oxford BrookesUniversities

Madhavi Malalgoda AriyabanduSub-Regional Coordinator, Central Asia & SouthCaucasus, United Nations Office for Disaster RiskReduction (UNISDR), Kazakhstan

Mihir R. BhattAll India Disaster Mitigation Institute, India

Dr. Satchit Balsari, MD, MPHThe University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell,New York, USA

T. Nanda KumarChairman, National Dairy Development Board(NDDB), Anand, Gujarat, India

ALL INDIA DISASTER MITIGATION INSTITUTE411 Sakar Five, Behind Old Natraj Cinema, Near Mithakhali Railway Crossing, Ashram Road,Ahmedabad–380 009 India. Tele/Fax: +91-79-2658 2962E-mail: [email protected], Website: http://www.aidmi.org, www.southasiadisasters.net

AIDMI is delighted to receive generous support of UNICEF (India) towards this issue.

situation. The participants of eachtrack came forward with their ownresponse mechanisms. It was anattempt to reveal the strengths andgaps in inter-agency communicationand discrepancies and overlaps inresponse planning among the variousstakeholders.

Field DrillThe brainstorming led to thegroundwork for the drill simulatedon January 12, 2016 at Port Field,Dhemaji. A real-time simulation/

drill of a mass casualty was carriedout with one mock drill scenario viz.Earthquake followed by fire at StateBank of India.

Over 46 victims injured during theincident, all the patients were triagedon the spot, applying their skillslearnt on training during theprevious three days and lastly wastaken to the pre identified DistrictCivil hospital Dhemaji, in order totest their emergency managementplan. The victims were coded with

Field drill at Darrang Emergency Management Exercise.

colors like red, yellow, green andblack. There were total 26 greenpatients, 12 yellow patients, 6 redpatients and one black patient.

Hot-wash and ValedictoryAt last the weeklong exerciseculminated in a lesson learntworkshop on January 12, 2016, whereall the participants assembled tomake an appraisal of what went rightand what went wrong. The lessonslearnt during the various tracks alsohelped to identify the gaps in ourstrengths and capabilities ofemergency response including interagency communication and co-ordination. In the valedictory session,participants were handed over acertificate of participation and DDMAexpressed its gratitude towards all.

ConclusionTo conclude this mega experience, itcan be said that the exercise hadoffered lessons to improve upon forall stakeholders involved. Eachstakeholder had an opportunity tojudge how S/he had reacted to amock emergency situation and couldvisualize his/her strength andweaknesses. This exercise was one ofa kind for the participants who widelyappreciated the lessons learned bythem during the exercise.

– Sonali Das, AIDMI

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