Africa-Press – Mauritius. The Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management, Dr Mohammad Anwar Husnoo, was briefed, this afternoon, regarding the Indian Ocean-wide tsunami exercise (IOWAVE 23), at the Headquarters of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre (NDRRMC) in Port Louis, by the National Emergency Operations Command (NEOC).
This exercise is being carried out today under the supervision of the NDRRMC and the NEOC around the Republic of Mauritius, including Rodrigues and the Outer Islands, and comprises participants from different Ministries and local authorities such as the Ministry of Health and Wellness; the Mauritius Ports Authority and, the Road Development Authority, amongst others.
Interviewed after the meeting, VPM Husnoo said that this kind of exercise has been regularly carried out since 2014 in order to evaluate how our response system can be improved.
He, moreover, dwelt on the exercise scenario which was to deal with a tsunami generated by an earthquake that occurred at about 800km to the South East of Jakarta and was likely to impact the South East coast of Mauritius, and some regions of Rodrigues Island and Saint Brandon.
Dr Husnoo continued by informing that the drill also comprised initiatives to evacuate the inhabitants of south-east coastal regions and bring them to Refugee Centres and, evacuation of nearby schools that might be affected.
“We also looked at how many casualty cases occurred during the operation and how they were taken care of,” he pointed out. He went on to say that a post-disaster assessment of the possibilities of what could happen when the tsunami has already hit the island was made.
“This helped us monitor how the population might be affected in the days following this hit and how to ensure that road networks, water, flooded houses, and electricity supplies are restored as quickly as possible,” he remarked.
Finally, Dr Husnoo thanked all the members of the NEOC and other participants who took an active part in this exercise and how they made sure that the population was safe. This, he underscored, will aid the authorities significantly in their decision-making to protect the population when the need arises.
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