Rainy nationwide shake drill in Laguna
BINAN, Philippines—Heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon enhanced by Typhoon “Helen” did not hamper the third quarter of nationwide earthquake drill with the ceremonial venue at Juana Village in Brgy. San Francisco here on Wednesday.
The alarm rang at 9 a.m., to signal the start of the supposed earthquake. Shortly after the participants evacuated to open grounds, heavy rains started to pour. The participants took shelter at the tents that were supposed to serve as incident command posts.
However, the drill continued. Respondents arrived to give aid and rescue trapped residents.
“Ang gagawin pag lumindol, rain or shine ay mag eevacuate kung sakaling lumindol kaya pag pasensyahan kung umulan. Practice na natin yun (Rain or shine, we would evacuate in case of an earthquake so we have to endure the rain),” Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director Renato Solidum said after the drill.
He lauded the evacuees and responders, estimated at 1,700 persons, for taking the drill seriously.
“Ang worst case scenario nga ay lumindol at bumagyo. Kayong gumaganap e seryoso po kayo. Successful ang inyong ginawa (The worst case scenario is when there is an earthquake and typhoon. You acted seriously. What you did is succesful),” he said.
The nationwide earthquake drill held every quarter aims to simulate a panicky situation when a 7.2-earthquake occurs and test the readiness of the people and the government.
The earthquake could be generated along the West Valley Fault running through Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal.
Part of the West Valley Fault directly traverses some 300 meters from the stage used for the drill, Solidum said.
“We want our people to be prepared against the dangers of earthquakes and other hazards. We remain in the path towards resilience as a nation, so we urge all Filipinos to join and participate in this drill and other future exercises that we will be conducting,” said National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad. RAM
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