Officials along with the participants during a tabletop exercise held at the State Emergency Operations Centre, Capital Convention Centre, Kohima, on November 13. (Photo Courtesy: NSDMA)
Kohima, November 13 (MExN): The Nagaland government on Friday conducted a tabletop exercise involving multiple departments and response agencies to assess preparedness for a potential mass casualty incident during the upcoming Hornbill Festival 2026.
According to an official update, the exercise was organised by the Department of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) at the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), Capital Convention Centre, Kohima.
It aimed to strengthen preparedness, coordination and response mechanisms among various departments and agencies in handling emergencies during the festival, which attracts large gatherings of visitors and tourists.
The exercise was based on a simulated scenario involving a bomb hoax during the inaugural ceremony at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, followed by a stampede resulting in multiple casualties.
The scenario was designed to facilitate discussions on emergency response, casualty management, evacuation procedures and coordination among the concerned agencies.
Key areas of deliberation included command and control under the Incident Response System (IRS), triage and treatment at the incident site, ambulance deployment, hospital preparedness, VVIP medical arrangements, crowd and scene safety, and communication and media management.
The exercise also examined the roles and responsibilities of various agencies at different levels of care, including the incident site, Kisama Medical Centre and designated receiving health facilities.
Discussions focused on the identification, categorisation and evacuation of casualties, availability of medical resources, hospital capacity and coordination between the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) and the SEOC.
Officials from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, representatives of NSDMA, District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Kohima, police, Fire and Emergency Services, Home Guards, Civil Defence and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), 12th Battalion National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Directorate of Tourism, Chief Medical Officer, Kohima, Naga Hospital Authority Kohima, 154 General Hospital and Indian Red Cross Society participated in the exercise.
The discussions also focused on preparations for the live Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) mock drill scheduled to be conducted on November 20 at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama.
The proposed drill will provide an opportunity to test the preparedness, operational arrangements and inter-agency coordination of the participating departments and emergency response agencies.
The tabletop exercise is part of the state’s ongoing preparedness initiatives to strengthen multi-agency coordination and ensure an organised, effective and timely response to emergencies during Hornbill Festival 2026.
