It is 8:44 am and 15-odd oceanographers and scientists are chattering away, preparing for a long day. In 45 minutes, their phones and monitors will be buzzing incessantly, sending out tsunami warnings and advisories through SMS, fax, and emails to 250 offices — ranging from state disaster managers and district administrations to the India Navy, Coast Guard, ports and harbours.
The scene played out at the Synergistic Ocean Observation Operations Services (SYNOPS) at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) on November 5, when the centre, which issues tsunami warnings in India, simulated an earthquake measuring 9.3 — enough to trigger massive tsunami waves in the Indian Ocean — with its epicentre in Indonesia’s northern Sumatra.
The mock drill, incidentally held on World Tsunami Awareness day, lasted four hours and saw participation from 25 coastal villages in Andhra Pradesh (6), Andaman and Nicobar (4), Gujarat (2), Goa (2), Kerala (4), Odisha (1), Puducherry (2), Tamil Nadu (2) and West Bengal (2).
“These exercises will provide a great opportunity for all stakeholders to test their tsunami warning procedures, standard operating procedures, enhance public awareness and preparedness. It will help us identify and fix any gaps in the warning chains and eventually be fully prepared for future events,” TM Balakrishnan Nair, director (in charge), INCOIS, told The Indian Express.
December 26 this year marks 20 years since the monstrous Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which had been generated by a massive earthquake near Sumatra measuring 9.3 in magnitude — the second strongest ever recorded. Tsunami waves as tall as 100 feet tall were reported. The disaster killed over 2.3 lakh people and affected 14 countries, including India.
Series of alerts
Inside the SYNOPS office, the dashboard flashes the warning at 9:30 am: “Mock Drill is about to commence”. Eight minutes later, the scientists inside issue the first bulletin — an earthquake measuring 8.8 has hit north Indonesia and could trigger a potential tsunami. The simulation has commenced.
The second bulletin at 9.46 am upgrades the warning — the earthquake actually measures 9.3, and areas such as Indira Point, Car Nicobar and several locations in the Andaman and Nicobar are placed as “potential threat”.
The scientists now get to work. The monitoring and control room is abuzz with phone calls, with scientists coordinating with various coastal centres to get updates on their preparedness. Meanwhile, with the earthquake sensors and tidal gauges deployed to measure any changes in land or sea, the dashboard continues to get updated with the latest data.
At 10 am, the third bulletin declares the inevitable — a tidal gauge at Sabang station in Indonesia has measured tsunami waves at 7.5 metres and some coastal areas must be ready for evacuation. ‘Red’ warnings, or serious risk warnings, are now issued for Indira Point, Car Nicobar, Little Andaman, Diglipur, Havelock islands, North Sentinel island along with Marakannam, Cuddalore, Puducherry, Mahabalipuram, Nagapattinam and more locations between Tamil Nadu and North Andhra Pradesh coasts.
This bulletin is crucial. It’s now that states must contact disaster management teams, plan evacuation and gather teams, and act swiftly.
A little after 10.30 am, the update: “We have started evacuations at Andamans,” says one official to his INCOIS colleague, “We have made public service announcements and evacuation of people has begun.”
As the tsunami waves travel fast and inch closer to the Indian coast, the tsunami buoys and tidal gauges along the Andaman and Nicobar islands detect the waves. All subsequent bulletins starting 10.30 am are disseminated once every 60 minutes till the drill ends at 1.30 pm.
Each state has its own protocol and warning dissemination mechanism, says Ajay Kumar B, senior scientist at the Ocean Modelling, Applied Research and Services division at INCOIS. “In case of a tsunami, the lead time can range between 20 and 30 minutes for Andaman and Nicobar islands (after a tsunamigenic earthquake with an epicentre near Indonesia) and about two hours for locations on India’s east coast,” he says.
Kumar’s phone is now buzzing with notifications – he’s getting photos and videos of public announcements and evacuations from coastal areas.
The last mile
Meanwhile, evacuation is underway in Narsinghpatana, a village on the shores of Bay of Bengal in Odisha’s Puri district. Here, an international delegation from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Trust Fund for Tsunami, Disaster and Climate Preparedness are visiting, along with officials from INCOIS.
A large board displays an illustration of the tsunami evacuation map and other details about the disaster.
Around 11 am, the siren blares, signalling to the residents that they must now evacuate. As residents leave with their families, some carrying luggage and others without, disaster management officials continue to patrol the area, giving tsunami warnings in the public announcement system.
“An earthquake struck the Indonesian coast in Bay of Bengal, triggering a massive tsunami… requesting everyone to run to the nearest shelter at Palanka village,” a volunteer announces through the public address system.
A village with a population of over 1,000, Narsinghpatana village is among the 26 coastal villages in the state certified as ‘tsunami ready’ — a recognition certificate by Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.
The certification is received after a place meets certain indicators about their preparedness — including a community risk reduction plan, mapping of tsunami hazard and inundation zones, public display of tsunami information, easy evacuation map, and developing outreach and public education materials.
UNESCO-IOC reviews its “tsunami ready” recognition to villages every four years.
In another part of the village, S K Sahid, a class 6 student, is explaining tsunami ‘dos and don’ts’ as the visiting UNESCAP team watches on.
“While rushing towards the shelters, instead of trying to take everything along with us which will take a lot of time, we should focus on carrying necessary documents like certificates, land pattas, Aadhaar and other government proof, medicines, dry foods and livestock,” he says to loud applause.
According to Balakrishnan Nair, the visit was meant to gauge last mile preparedness of the village. “If it’s not ready, then our research has no meaning,” Nair, who was part of the delegation, tells the residents.
Disaster management teams during the drill, Tuesday. (Image source: INCOIS) 
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