Table top exercise conducted on disaster management
2 min readSHIMLA 12 June, 2026
Chief Secretary K.K Pant chaired the virtual table top exercise today to assess the preparedness of various departments and strengthen inter-departmental coordination for effective disaster management in the State.
The exercise was organized by Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The table top exercise simulated realistic disaster situations based on the hazards most relevant to Himachal Pradesh. Detailed scenarios including high intensity earthquake, cloudburst, triggered flash flood and forest fires were presented to the participating departments. The exercise enabled the officials to evaluate existing standard operating procedures (SOPs), identifying operational gaps and testing the effectiveness of communication and coordination mechanisms during the emergencies.
The Chief Secretary said that Himachal Pradesh remains highly vulnerable to multiple natural hazards due to its geographical and climatic conditions. He said that such exercises were essential for enhancing institutional preparedness, improving response capabilities and ensuring coordination among all the stakeholders during emergencies.
The Chief Secretary said that mock drill would be conducted on June 15 under the guidance and observation of officials of NDMA, Army and ITBP in co-ordination with NDMA, Army and Para Military forces personnel who would help in finding the short comings in preparedness and its mitigation.
Senior Consultant, NDMA, Major General (Retd.) Sudhir Behal conducted the table top exercise through video conference in which senior officers of NDRF, Army, ITBP and state government besides all Deputy Commissioners and senior district level officers participated.
Special Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Dr. Pushpender Rana said that hypothetical scenarios related to earthquake, cloudburst and forest fire etc. would be created in which all districts of the state and stakeholder departments would participate actively.
The representatives of NDMA, SDMA, India Meteorological Department (IMD), forest, health, HPPWD participated in the table top exercise.
