The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in collaboration with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Pakistan, conducted a Tsunami awareness drill in Ormara on Saturday. Thousands of coastal area residents including a large number of women and children, besides district disaster management officials participated in the mock exercise, said a press release of NDMA here.
Some survivors of Arabian Sea Tsunami 1945, now in their old age, were also brought on the site to enlighten the people whatever they witnessed during the disaster situation. Ormara town, located around 347kms east of port city Gawadar, has only one link with the plain areas as it is surrounded by Arabian Sea by two ends and mountains on the third, thus it is one of top disaster-prone sites of the country. The NDMA and UNDP experts on Tsunami were present in Ormara for the last few days for preparation for the drill.
Preparatory workshops for local government officials, NGOs and local populace were also organised to enhance their capacities for preparedness and mitigation during disasters, said Muhammad Irfan, spokesman of the NDMA. Meanwhile, District Naib Nazim Gawadar, Abdul Ghaffar Haut, told APP on telephone that a large number of local people including women, children and elderly keenly learned the preparatory measures to avoid losses in case of a Tsunami disaster.
In response to warning sirens from ambulances, people rushed out of their houses and gathered at per-identified place where local government officials and local volunteers briefed them about the issue and appreciated their involvement for Tsunami awareness activity. The drill was third in the series of such drills in the Arabian Sea after Ketibandar and Jewani.