Delhi Government plans Emergency Operations Centre to mitigate impact of natural disasters

Delhi Government is planning to build an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Northwest Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh. This centre will be aimed at coordinating relief operations in the event of a natural disaster or calamity.

Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has already approved land for the centre, according to an Indian Express report.

The proposal to build a designated Emergency Operations Centre in the national capital was discussed on March 18 at the meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) which was chaired by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also attended the meeting, the report added.

Earlier this year, large areas of Turkey and Syria were decimated when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck south-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border. The huge quake left close to 50,000 people dead while crumbling vast swaths of the cityscape and displacing millions of people.

The Turkish government has come under criticism for its sluggish response to the natural disaster as it failed to immediately mobilise its rescue teams to carry out field operations.

By building an Emergency Operations Centre, Delhi Government is essentially aiming to avoid the kind of devastation that was witnessed in Turkey and Syria.

It is of utmost importance that people affected by an earthquake of such magnitude receive effective help immediately. Authorities should be able to conduct coordinated search and rescue operations within the first 12 hours to two days of a natural calamity.

This is where Delhi’s Emergency Operations Centre will come into play in case a natural calamity strikes the national capital. As Delhi is in an earthquake-prone region, the establishment of such an EOC becomes inevitable.

The national capital falls in Zone-IV of the Seismic Map and thousands of houses in the city could be extremely vulnerable in the event of an earthquake. Last month, Delhi was jolted by strong tremors after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Hindukush region in Afghanistan.

Therefore, Delhi Government’s move to build an Emergency Operations Centre is quite significant. Reports suggest that the government also plans to train 1,800 volunteers in basic relief skills and rescue measures so that they can support communities during an earthquake.