If a major earthquake strikes today, is Thimphu, the country’s most populated city, prepared? Experts warn that Bhutan is overdue for a major earthquake. And with the recent earthquake still fresh in public memory, the urgency to prepare has become even more real. As part of strengthening emergency readiness, a full-scale earthquake simulation exercise was conducted in the capital today.
A hotel collapses, three residential buildings develop severe cracks, and another catches fire in Olakha.
While the scene appears alarming, it is only a simulation designed to demonstrate the potential impact of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Bhutan. The exercise aimed to showcase the scale of destruction such a disaster could cause and test the preparedness of emergency responders.
At the simulation site in Olakha, around 20 mock victims simulate injuries ranging from fractures and crush injuries to head trauma and fatalities in the aftermath of the disaster.
Response teams carry out rescue operations, damage assessments, evacuation of victims, and hospital emergency procedures across nine different locations in the capital.
As the simulation trigger activates at the National Referral Hospital, patients and staff are immediately evacuated to designated safe zones.
Incident management teams conduct attendance checks to account for personnel and assess available human resources.
Response teams then hosts coordination meetings to activate emergency procedures and assign responsibilities.
Within minutes, temporary medical tents are set up within the hospital premises to expand treatment capacity, while ambulances are dispatched to transport simulated casualties from affected areas.
As the exercise progresses, mock patients from other affected areas portraying earthquake casualties are brought to the hospital, sent to various clinics based on injury severity, and examined by medical teams.
This drill tests the hospital’s ability to manage a sudden influx of casualties while maintaining coordination among emergency responders and healthcare workers.
“For example, when the main hospital is compromised, then we have to set up field hospitals elsewhere in areas that are not affected. So, we need to have immediate mobilisation resources. Currently, through this simulation exercise, we realised that we don’t have that kind of resource to be mobilised immediately and set up field hospitals,” said Phub Tshering, Incident Commander, Earthquake Simulation Exercise, JDWNRH.
“Aside from some gaps that have to be fulfilled during the planning and after action, which will be coming up, the logistics and human resources need to be improved in certain health centres. However, in the JDWNRH, action was top-notch. They responded very well,” said Pranab Man Karmacharya, Lead of Medical Response, Earthquake Simulation Exercise.
At the control room, officials from various sectors communicate with field officials and coordinate to deploy rescue teams wherever necessary.
The Department of Local Governance and Disaster Management conducted the exercise following weeks of planning, site preparation, orientation sessions, and coordination among participating agencies.
SIMEX-II, the second phase of the earthquake simulation exercise, was designed following an earlier tabletop exercise conducted this year to validate and strengthen the Thimphu Earthquake Contingency Plan.
“That earthquake that occurred a few weeks ago should serve as a reminder to all of us. Thankfully, nothing happened. And we must use that as a clear and stark warning rather than be complacent. And we must mobilise the community to be ready, to be prepared. Because our country lives in one of the most seismically active regions in the world. And we are long overdue for a massive one, a big earthquake. It is not as if a big one will hit us. It is when. While we cannot predict when the next earthquake will strike, we can at least prepare for it,” said Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister.
“The newly built structures are relatively better constructed; however, in Thimphu, we see a lot of old, vulnerable structures also, and this is a mix of both kinds of structures. Therefore, the existing vulnerability in Thimpu is still high, but we need to gradually go towards reducing the damages following earthquakes; it cannot be done overnight,” said Surya N. Shrestha, Executive Director, National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal.
“We have prepared an Earthquake Contingency Plan for Thimphu, and we have prepared for Thimphu because Thimphu is the most populous place in Bhutan, and the experts have predicted that if there is an earthquake, the casualties and damages will be more in Thimphu. So, we tested it, and in terms of positive learning, I think people, although we were doing it for the first time, coordination was going fairly well, and other positive learning that we probably noticed was the hospital response system was quite good,” said Karma Galay, Director General, Department of Local Governance and Disaster Management, MoHA.
While the exercise revealed encouraging levels of coordination and a strong hospital response system, it also highlighted areas requiring urgent improvement
“In terms of equipment, although our search and response people in terms of our RBP personnel, in terms of RBP personnel and SOPs, although they are trained, I think they have the skills, they were not sometimes able to conduct proper search and rescue because of a lack of equipment,” said Karma Galay, Director General, Department of Local Governance and Disaster Management, MoHA.
“In a simulation, you already know where you need to go. You know, the exercise is designed so you have some idea where to send resources. In an actual disaster, that doesn’t happen. You don’t know where all you may need resources. So the more you can think ahead and be prepared and have certain kinds of SOPs in place, certain kinds of coordination mechanisms in place, certain kinds of equipment in place, the more you prepare, the better you are at reducing the risk,” said Amit Prothi, Director General, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, India.
Lessons learned from today’s simulation will feed directly into strengthening disaster preparedness and improving earthquake response planning in Thimphu.
The deadliest earthquake recorded in Bhutan remains the magnitude 8.5 earthquake, which occurred in 1714.
Devika Pradhan, Kelzang Chhophyel & Karma Wangdi
Edited by Phub Gyem
