MANILA — In line with ongoing efforts to create disaster-resilient communities, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) conducted its 1st Quarter National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) at the Quezon City Memorial Circle, Quezon City Thursday.
Ricardo Jalad, NDRRMC executive director, said this year’s 1st Quarter NSED scenario was based on a magnitude 7.2 earthquake scenario.
This was derived from the Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study, identifying potentially strong and destructive earthquakes along the West Valley Fault on the eastern side of Metro Manila and the Manila Trench on the western side of Metro Manila.
“As part of the National Council’s continuing campaign for earthquake resilience, the NSED is conducted quarterly, not only as a display of response capacities among local government units but also as a way to test existing plans, as well as strengthen interoperability among assisting regions,” Jalad said.
During Thursday’s event, Quezon City disaster responders tested their contingency plan for earthquakes, showcasing various scenarios, among them evacuation involving a high-density population, collapse structure search and rescue, fire suppression, hospital surge, and camp management.
In addition to the scenarios, communications interoperability among the Metro Manila DRRMC Emergency Operations Center, Quezon City Commo Center, and Office Civil Defense’s (OCD) office in the Ilocos region was tested.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who is also the concurrent NDRRMC chair, urged the public to regularly participate in the quarterly NSED so that they would know the proper response in the event of a massive quake.
“We encourage our people to regularly participate in our drills so that they can build their preparedness to earthquake hazards, not just here in Metro Manila but across these islands,” he added.
Local drills were conducted nationwide through the OCD regional offices and other pilot areas:
*Region 1 (Ilocos) – Municipality of Badoc, Ilocos Norte;
*Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) – Cabatacan East Elementary School and Cabatacan National High School, Lasam, Cagayan;
*Region 3 (Central Luzon) – Municipal Hall, Norzagaray, Bulacan;
*Region 4-A (Calabarzon) – Brgy. Ithan, Binangonan, Rizal;
*Region 4-B (Mimaropa) – Nabuslot National High School, Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro;
*Region 5 (Bicol) – Sorsogon City, Sorsogon;
*Region 6 (Western Visayas) – SM City Iloilo, Iloilo City;
*Region 7 (Central Visayas) – Brgy. Paknaan, Mandaue City;
*Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) – Borongan City, Eastern Samar;
*Region 9 (Zamboanga) – St. Joseph College Inc., Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte;
*Region 10 (Northern Mindanao) – Misamis Occidental National High School;
*Region 11 (Davao) – Davao City Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Drug Dependents, Davao City;
*Region 12 (Soccsksargen) – Notre Dame Village, Cotabato City;
*Region 13 (Caraga) – Nasipit Municipality, Agusan Norte;
*ARMM – Datu Paglas National High School, Datu Paglas, Maguindanao;
*NCR – National Pilot Area: Quezon City Memorial Circle; and
*CAR – St. Louis University, Baguio City. (Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
