A tsunami scenario will be included in this year’s fourth quarter National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
NDRRMC spokesperson Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said the fourth quarter NSED will be held on Nov. 10 as part of the continuing effort to strengthen earthquake preparedness.
The Paranaque City government will be the host of the ceremonial pressing of the button and the full-scale exercise. Similar scenarios will be simultaneously held by local DRRM councils across the country.
The highlight of the drill is the simulation of a magnitude 8.3 earthquake that triggered a tsunami – a series of big tidal waves often caused by the displacement of a large volume of water – in the coastal communities and what to do to minimize casualties. A tsunami can be caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions.
The integration of a tsunami scenario is seen to raise awareness on the observance of the World Tsunami Day on Saturday, Nov. 5.
“Muli naming kayong inaanyayahan na makiisa sa ating huling NSED ngayong taon (We again invite the public to join our last quarter NSED this year),” Alejandro said.
The NDRRMC official noted that the exercise will test Paranaque City’s contingency plan for tsunami and demonstrate the evacuation procedures in the local community.
He also stated that the drill will test the combined efforts for water search and rescue, and air rescue capabilities as well as the interoperability of the communications systems of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and Philippine Air Force (PAF).
According to the NDRRMC, there were several instances that an earthquake generated a tsunami in the Philippines such as the magnitude 8.1 Moro Gulf earthquake in 1976 and the magnitude 7.1 Mindoro earthquake in 1994.
The Moro Gulf earthquake occurred on Aug. 17, 1976 near the islands of Mindanao and Sulu. It triggered a 13-feet to 16-feet tall (four to five meters) tsunami that affected 700 kilometers of coastline in the Moro Gulf and killed about 5,000 to 8,000 people, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Meanwhile, the Mindoro earthquake took place on Nov. 15, 1994 due to the movement of the 35-km long ground rupture called Aglubang River Fault. The quake generated a tsunami which reached vertical run-up of 28 ft. (8.5 meters) in Baco Islands, according to field survey reports, and killed more than 70 people.