QUAKE DRILL. Municipal employees of Santo Tomas, Davao del Norte calmly pile out of their offices doing 'duck, cover, and hold' after hearing a siren, signaling an earthquake scenario, during the 4th Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill on Thursday morning (Nov. 14,2019). The participants then proceeded to the assigned evacuation areas as trained disaster responders and medical teams inspected various offices to check for possible casualties. (Photo courtesy of Santo Tomas MIO)
DAVAO CITY —The Davao del Norte town of Santo Tomas participated in the 4th Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill held on Thursday morning.
Rey Sagot, head of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO), said they held a series of preparedness drills that simulated a 6.0 magnitude earthquake.
“We need to check the preparedness of our employees especially when earthquakes strike. By doing this, we would be able to assess if our approach is enough to save more lives or perhaps reduce the number of casualties during calamities and disasters,” Sagot said.
Hundreds of employees piled out of their offices doing “duck, cover, and hold” after hearing a siren, signaling an earthquake scenario.
Employees went to the assigned evacuation areas as trained disaster responders and medical teams inspected various offices to check for possible casualties.
After the simulated scenario, the MDRRMO gave a brief orientation and assessment of the earthquake drill.
Mayor Ernesto Evangelista, who participated in the drill with other employees, underscored the importance of holding regular drills, saying this would calibrate the municipal government’s capability to effectively respond in times of disaster.
“This is a big help to our local government unit because it would cause a necessary move to check our preparedness at the same time, assess our evacuation plan,” Evangelista said. (PNA)
