Bel Ombre residents in full-scale tsunami exercise |29 January 2009

Alongside those who would be helping them face such a disaster, residents took part yesterday in an extended simulation exercise designed to evacuate them if a tsunami seems imminent. 

The exercise unfolded in various parts of the district, including the administration block, where the command centre for an evacuation plan would be based; the harbour, a focal point for many fishermen and tourists; Bel Ombre school, from where most of the children would have to be moved if a tsunami struck during term time; and St Roch Church, the designated shelter for those being evacuated from the shore areas.

The evacuation plan was carried out by the Department for Risk and Disaster Management (DRDM), in collaboration with various partners including the Red Cross, the Fire Department, the Police, the Department of Community Development, the Schools Division and the parish church.

After confirming the threat of the ‘tsunami’ yesterday – through messages relayed to the command centre from the main centre in Victoria – agents were sent on to the streets to warn people and tell them what to do.

Some were on foot, while others used a pick-up truck and a loud hailer to tell people from one end of the district to the other about the threat. They also picked up people leaving the shoreline and took them to the safe house at the church.

Sharon Telemaque of the DRDM told Seychelles Nation the exercise was carried out according to an action plan for disaster relief designed for the district. She said all 25 districts in the country have their own plans, customised to meet their local conditions.

In the case of Bel Ombre, the exercise was designed to evacuate people from the threat of a tsunami because of the district’s location and the expected damage should large waves surge on to the shore.

Ms Telemaque said the obvious weak point with the Bel Ombre relief plan is the location of its command centre, which is practically on the shoreline and would be affected by a tsunami.

“The district will have to choose another location, on higher ground, to serve this purpose,” she said.

Mumtaz Hasan, the consultant responsible for drawing up the action plan for each district, said the simulation should serve to identify the weakness and flaws in the evacuation strategy.

All who took part in the exercise will be debriefed, and their reports and findings will form part of the action plan where necessary, she added.

“Capacity building and on-the-ground training will also be organised for people involved with the evacuation, in areas where they have shown to be lacking,” she said.