To test the response of disaster management agencies and also generate public awareness, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will conduct a large-scale exercise in the tricity of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula as well as Shimla on February 13.

This will be the first-ever disaster management initiative in the country at a multi-state level. A unified command and control centre is expected to be set up to handle operations and co-ordinate activities of different state governments across the affected areas.