NOVELETA, Cavite – At the strike of 8 a.m. Monday, scores of grade schoolers and high school coeds joined local government officials and town hall employees here in the simulated drills and mock demonstrations for this year’s 4th Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill 2018 and “World Tsunami Awareness Day”.
Jeg Alix, head of Noveleta’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) and the DRRM staff monitored the five public elementary schools and two public high schools as students executed the “Duck, Cover and Hold” positions during the quake drills.
“In this drill, we demonstrate and teach the school children and residents the proper way to keep safe in case an earthquake strikes in our place. Each of us should be always prepared,” Alix said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Cavite provincial government officials and employees staged their simulated drills at the Provincial Capitol grounds in Trece Martires City with the necessary support mechanisms for search, rescue, recovery, and relief operations.
Meanwhile, the Bacoor City DRRMO staged its “World Tsunami Day” drill and mock demonstration in the event of a tsunami disaster along the stretch of Evangelista St. The Banalo Bridge and Barangay Alima were temporarily closed to vehicular traffic to show the extent and scope of a “tsunami alert” and “disaster waiting to happen” in this Cavite gateway and coastal city.
In Dasmariñas City, chief of the city police Supt. Nerwin Ricohermoso led his men in coordinating with the City DRRMO for the earthquake and tsunami alert drills.
In General Trias City, Hernando Olimpo, head of the city DRRMO, said in an interview that they scheduled the drills on Tuesday, instead of Monday, to give way to the regular flag-raising ceremony in government offices and schools.
Olimpo said they have timed the drills to parade their PHP11.9-million worth of brand-new Nissan Rescue Trucks, at the town plaza. (Dennis Abrina/PNA)
