12. Education and Outreach
Programs
CSIR-NGRI along with various national agencies is involved in outreach
activities to sensitize the general public to build a seismic resilient
society. Gupta H.K., et al. (2020) opined that scenario-based research
is important for disaster preparedness of the country, involving
historical data of earthquakes superimposed on the current data
pertaining to infrastructure, population, etc., for a Seismic Zone V.
Such exercises carried out in NE India successfully raised awareness
among the general public, and more importantly, among the various
responders, streamlined the techniques and procedures of a diverse set
of agencies – from administrative, to technical, including disaster
response forces, fire-fighters, hospitals, etc. (Fig.18). All the
concerned agencies successfully performed the mega mock exercises. This
underscores that if the mitigation and preparedness measures are
adequate, the impact of any great earthquake can be contained.
CSIR-NGRI is conducting various outreach activities in seismology by
inviting students to the Institute, conducting webinars for students and
general public, distributing booklets in different languages, and
visiting different schools in different parts of the country to spread
awareness about earthquakes, earthquake risks and precautions. In the
last three years, CSIR-NGRI has reached around 20,000 students and
general public through these outreach activities. CSIR-NGRI has also
conducted 6 training courses (online and offline) in seismology during
2019-2022. These courses were attended by nearly 250 participants.
Fig.19 shows participation of school children in one such event.