Kozhikode district emergency operation centre opened

KOZHIKODE: The district emergency operation centre (EOC) started functioning at the collectorate here on Friday. The centre, under the district disaster management authority will coordinate rescue operations in times of calamities and disasters.
The EOC will function round the clock and coordinate various departments on getting information about natural calamities, human conflicts and accidents. The centre was inaugurated by minister for excise and labour T P Ramakrishnan.
The EOC was set up spending Rs 35 lakh allocated by the state disaster management authority.Equipment to carry out rescue operations and to ensure proper communication have been purchased for the EOC spending the fund.
The equipment available at the centre includes fire extinguishers, life jackets, VHF communication system and first aid kits. The centre is expected to get more sophisticated instruments during the next financial year.
“One revenue official, one police man and one fire man will be on duty at the EOC during night time to attend emergency calls,” said Abdul Nasar, deputy collector (Disaster Management). The Centre will send men and equipment to the place of disaster to speed up rescue operations, he added.
The disaster management authority has also started collecting the details of local people, including members of various clubs to form civil disaster response team. The first such squad will be formed at Pashukkadavu near Maruthonkara, which is a disaster prone area in the district. The emergency operation centre will coordinate the activities of community-based disaster response force, said Abdul Nasar.