Quake drills with a twist during pandemic: Duck, cover at home

MANILA, Philippines—The country’s disaster response agency will soon hold the quarterly earthquake drill but scale it down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Civil Defense Administrator Ricardo Jalad said the public must still bear in mind the importance of staying safe during earthquakes despite being bombarded daily by reports about the pandemic.

“I encourage the public to continuously engage in activities that promote earthquake safety,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Sept. 3).

The nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill is set on Sept. 10 at 2 p.m.

Unlike previous quake drills, he said, the Office of Civil Defense would live stream on Facebook the ceremonies for the pressing of the button “to signal the duck, cover and hold procedure.”

The public is encouraged to take part in the drills at home.

Other online activities are also set ahead of the earthquake drill. An online quiz bee will be launched on Sept. 7, which can be monitored at the Civil Defense PH Facebook page.

An online seminar on earthquake preparedness and response is set on Sept 8.

The OCD is also set to update its National and Regional Public Service Continuity Plans and its contingency plans to integrate COVID-19 health measures, Jalad said.

TSB