SHILLONG: The media forge a direct link between the public and emergency organisations and play a crucial role in disseminating vital information to the public before, during and after disasters, said Minister in-charge Revenue and Disaster Management Department Kyrmen Shylla on Saturday.
Addressing a gathering at a day-long training programme on the ‘Role of Media in Disaster Management’ at Pinewood Hotel, said the media has a role in all phases of disasters namely Mitigation (prevention of future emergencies and minimizing their effects), preparedness (preparing to deal with an emergency), response and recovery.
“This role would become more important with the establishment of a State Operation Centre network and Decision Support System,” the minister added.
He pointed out that in the present era where social media has become a powerful tool of communication, it allows the media to stay updated and disseminate information of the concerned areas which are affected during disasters thereby enabling the masses to have firsthand information about the situation.
The minister, while appreciating the training initiative, said such programmes “will go a long way in sensitising the media in disaster risk reduction and will further add to the capacity building of the media thus enabling them to respond more effectively during and after disasters”.
The programme was organised by the Meghalaya State Disaster Management Authority in collaboration with the Directorate of Information and Public Relation and the Shillong Press Club.
The inaugural programme was followed by a training programme where senior journalist Snehasis Sur delivered a lecture on ‘Disaster Management, Disaster Reporting and Crisis Communication’ followed by Open Forum, Brainstorming and Idea Generation.
As part of the International Day for Disaster Reduction observation, a simulation planning and exercise (mock drill) was conducted for Civil Hospital Shillong on Saturday. It was organised by the District Disaster Management Authority, East Khasi Hills and conducted by Civil Hospital under the aegis of USAID-MHA-UNDP partnership project titled ‘Developing resilient cities through risk reduction in the context of disasters and climate change’.