NAGA CITY, Aug. 18 (PIA) – As the loud and long sound of alarm echoed at exactly 2:00 PM, hundreds of customers, tenants and individuals walked out of the various establishments at the Central Business District II August 16, for the 3rd Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) along the Ninoy & Cory Avenue, here.
Amidst the sounds of sirens from fire trucks and ambulances, occupants of SM City Naga, Concentrix, IBM, CBD Plaza Hotel, Central Bus Station, and other business establishments gathered at the holding and evacuation areas and performed the “DUCK, COVER, and HOLD” procedure.
Apart from the basic “duck, cover and hold,” the drill also tested how the agencies involved such as the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Health (DOH), operate.
Simulation of several scenarios during an earthquake were undertaken like; fire suppression, search and rescue operation, high-angle rescue, emergency medical services, police action against possible looting incidents, and traffic control, among others.
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Regional Office V Director Gen. Claudio Yucot thanked the local government of Naga for the successful conduct of the drill, which was his fourth undertaking of the NSED, having had the same activity in Legazpi City, Sorsogon and Iriga City previously.
Yucot pointed out that the preparation and response of the contingency plans of the Naga City DRRMO is good, although there are still areas for improvement.
“There are still areas for improvement, like the fluidity of the response effort, crowd control was not much emphasized, and the traffic. Hopefully this will be given more attention, more rehearsal and practice in the near future,” Yucot added.
Aside from testing the readiness and response of the contingency plans of the CDRRMO, the NSED also aims to test the abilities of the agencies involved in disaster risk reduction management, and to make the people aware of such activity/drill for them to be prepared in the occurrence of an earthquake.
The NSED is part of the OCD’s “Bida ang Handa” campaign that aims to promote disaster preparedness through public participation. #BidaAngHanda (Jam Madrid-LSM,JRM-PIA5/Camarines Sur)