Forming part of the statewide Civil Defence Mock Exercise on Air Raid conducted across the State by the Directorate of Civil Defence & Home Guards, Meghalaya, Shillong, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), East Jaintia Hills Districtin collaboration with the office of the Deputy Controller of Civil Defence, Khliehriat todaysuccessfully carried out a Mock Exercise simulating an air raid scenario in Khliehriat Town.
The Mock Exercise was conducted in two phases, with the first phase involving Search & Rescue Operations, Fire Response, Evacuation, Medical Response, etc. carried out from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, while the second phase comprised a “Blackout” simulation observed from 7:00 PM to 7:02 PM.
In Stage I of the Mock Exercise conducted at Khliehriat, the Civil Defence Siren was sounded at 2:59 PM to signal the simulation of Air Raid and commencement of the exercise and again at 4:00 PM the siren was sounded indicating the “All Clear” signal and conclusion of the first phase of the Mock Exercise.
In Stage II of the Mock Exercise, a “Warning” siren was sounded at 6:59 PM to signal the start of the “Blackout,”. The blackout lastedfor a few minutes and the “All Clear” siren was sounded at 7:02 PM.
The First Stage of the exercise was conducted at various identified locations in Khliehriat including Jaintia Eastern College (JEC), Khliehriat Civil Hospital, Khliehriat Presbyterian Higher Secondary School, 1 India Family Mart, San Mala,Byndihati Stand, premises of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, Khliehriat, etc.
The exercise witnessed the active participation of all key stakeholders including Police, Civil Defence & Home Guards, Fire & Emergency Services and various Government Departments such as Health, Power, PWD, PHE, DIPR, etc along with community leaders, volunteersand members of the public.
After the exercise, a debriefing session was held to review the performance, identify gaps and suggest measures for improving future response strategies.
