Representatives from various NGOs, heads of Coimbatore District Home Guards, officer bearers of the CCMC and ordinary citizens today got together at a meeting hosted by the Park Group of Institution to synergise efforts to create a disaster resilient Coimbatore.

“I was in the U.S. when hurricane Katrina struck. People struggled to come to terms with life there. That made me realise that in a developing nation like India, we have a lot of homework to do in disaster management. The launch of Coimbatore Rapid Response Team (CRRT) is the first step in this initiative.” Anusha Ravi is the CEO of Park Group of Institutions, said.

Seconding her, Corporation Commissioner Dr. Vijay Karthikeyan said people should be more aware of disaster management. “It is nice to see people from all quarters working together towards making Coimbatore a disaster resilient city. When we travel by flight, prior to take off we have the crew educate passengers about safety measures. How many of us actually pay attention to them? Time has come for everybody to become more aware of disaster management. It is a collaborative effort.” he said.

Dr. Vijay Karthikeyan stressed the importance of disseminating the information. “People have access to information but seldom do they spread the word around. In managing disaster dissemination of information is the key.” he said.

“Time has come for the people of this region to step up and prepare themselves to face and any disaster.”

“I have the report and we are working in this direction. It is a step by step process. We have received the blue print to make Coimbatore disaster resilient. We are creating a database of men and material. Based on their skill set, people will be identified and listed in our database. Similarly, material to handle disaster of all kinds will also be upgraded.” Dr Karthikeyan later told Covai Post.