EARTHQUAKE DRILL. Village, fire, police and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office officials, along with teachers of the Almacen Elementary School in Hermosa, Bataan, conduct an earthquake drill with more than 400 pupils on Thursday (June 20, 2019). The exercise was done simultaneously in schools and government offices nationwide. (Photo by Ernie Esconde)
HERMOSA, Bataan -- School children from a flood-prone village here joined the earthquake drill that was held simultaneously across the country on Thursday.
At about 2 p.m., the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) led the drill, in coordination with the police, the municipal disaster risk, reduction and management office (MDRRMO) and officials of Barangay Almacen in this town.
Some 16 teachers guided 425 pupils from day care to Grades 1 to 6 of the Almacen Elementary School.
As the bell rang signaling an "earthquake", children did the duck, cover and hold technique under their desks inside their classrooms, with constant reminders from their teachers, until the bell stopped.
After a few minutes, the bell rang again, a signal for the children to get out of their rooms with two hands, books or notebooks covering their heads.
The children filed in single lines and used various exit points from their school to the evacuation center.
The evacuation center at the back of the school is surrounded by tall grasses and the road was made muddy by the rains.
Rescue workers of the BFP, police and MDRRMO rushed to the rooms to save the "injured". Medics then applied first aid before loading them on waiting ambulances.
Asked what benefit the children would get from the drill, Maricel Sazon, Grade 4 teacher, said, “Mapaghahandaan ng mga bata. Alam na nila ang dapat gawin kapag may aktual na lindol (Children will be prepared. They know what must be done in case of an actual earthquake)".
Almacen is Bataan’s most flood-hit area during the rainy season. (PNA)
