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NSC as an 'emergency rest centre'

The NSC in Douglas was transformed into an emergency rest centre, as part of a training exercise involving the Island's Civil Defence Unit, and the Social Services Division of the DHSS.

More than 200 temporary beds were set up in the main sports halls to deal with 'evacuees', following an imaginary incident in Laxey.

The aim was to test the ability of the services to deal with a scenario in which 180 people were forced to leave their homes and seek temporary shelter for the night.

Members of the Women's Institute and NSC staff also provided support.

It was the first time such an exercise had been carried out at the NSC, which was designed with such a purpose in mind.

The exercise was held on Wednesday night, and the Civil Defence Unit says everything went very well.

(Picture: The NSC, or National Sports Centre, from manxscenes.com).

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