Delhi to host mock emergency drill on Aug 1; quake, chemical disaster simulations to be held

The national capital is set to host a mock drill aimed at bolstering emergency response capabilities for major calamities such as earthquakes and chemical disasters, officials said on Sunday.

The field-level drill will mark the culmination of a multi-agency ‘Exercise Suraksha Chakra’ designed to enhance emergency response coordination in the National Capital Region covering 18 districts across Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, they said.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) said the mock drill will simulate a major earthquake scenario and test real-time preparedness, inter-agency coordination, and public response mechanisms.

All necessary preparations have been made to conduct the mock drill smoothly in all 11 districts of Delhi. This is a crucial step towards building a resilient city capable of handling major disasters, an advisory from DDMA said.

It urged citizens to cooperate fully and not to panic during the drill. It is a planned exercise and not a real emergency, it added.

As part of the exercise, residents may witness increased movement of emergency vehicles including ambulances, fire tenders, police vans, and army trucks. Sirens and public address systems may be used to signal the start of the drill.

Temporary facilities like incident command posts, staging areas, relief camps, and medical aid posts will also be established, the advisory said.

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), armed forces, civil defence, Delhi Police and other stakeholders will carry out simulated rescue operations, casualty evacuations, and medical assistance to mock victims, the advisory added.

The exercise will begin on July 29 with a high-level symposium on disaster risk and strategic preparedness. A tabletop exercise (TTEx) will be conducted on July 30 to allow disaster managers to test their response plans in a controlled environment.

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The full-scale mock drill on August 1 will be the final phase, putting planning into action on the ground.

Apart from Delhi’s 11 revenue districts, the exercise will cover Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, Nuh, and Rewari in Haryana, and Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, it said.

The DDMA emphasised the “whole-of-government” approach adopted for the drill, which includes the involvement of the armed forces, scientific bodies like the IMD and NCS, and civil society organisations.

It said the exercise is a significant step towards making Delhi and the NCR more disaster-resilient through proactive planning, capacity building, and public awareness.