LIKE a scene from a doomsday movie, it had survivors, villains and heroes—all thrown into a frantic mix by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake.
“We have to duck!” one actor shouted, signaling the start of a scripted exercise simulating a massive catastrophe—made worse by the breakout of street crimes—at the upscale Bonifacio Global City on Thursday morning.
The earthquake drill, which also comes with a “looting scenario,” lasted more than two hours and was played out on 5th Avenue by a cast of around 400 people.
They included “robbers” breaking into a store and carrying out boxes of stolen goods—only to be “arrested” by quick-responding policemen.
Out in the streets, the role-playing dead and wounded lay next to heaps of debris.
Calmness instead of chaos
As sirens blared out, “residents” whose first instinct was to scramble and let chaos take over were instead directed to walk calmly to safer ground.
The whole affair was part of the government’s preparations for a massive killer quake that may be triggered by the West Valley Fault, which experts say is ripe for a potentially devastating movement after centuries of dormancy.
A bigger, Metro-wide “shake drill” is scheduled on July 30, with up to six million people expected to participate across the capital.
Thursday’s exercise was held in coordination with local authorities, the police, the military, the fire protection bureau, the public works department and various paramedic groups to test the readiness of urban centers like BGC for the “Big One.”
Simultaneous drills were also held in about 20 other areas nationwide. “We are playing out possible scenarios to test our local, regional and national plans,” said Mina Marasigan, public affairs chief of the Office of Civil Defense.
At 9 a.m., employees emptied office towers to the sound of fire alarms in the vicinity of 5th Avenue, where the drill was centered. The evacuation proved to be orderly, as well as the assembly at designated evacuation points like parking lots.
Color-coded tents
The simulated rescue missions involved the extraction of casualties from damaged structures or under fallen debris, and bringing them to temporary field clinics where medical personnel conducted triage procedures.
Volunteer doctors classified the casualties according to the urgency of their medical needs. Those with the most serious injuries were brought to the red tent for critical care, the milder cases were pointed to the yellow and greet tents. Corpses were brought to the black tent.
At least six “looters” were spotted by three mobile police teams and apprehended after a chase on foot. Of course, the arrests took place in front of the “VIP stage area” for government officials observing the exercise.
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Director Renato Solidum said “evaluators” from Phivolcs will make an assessment of the drill.