Officials and employees of the Rizal local government joined the nation in the National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) on Thursday, Sept. 7.
Local officials of the city and municipalities in the province joined by their employees in the emergency response exercise “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” at the signal of a siren at 2 p.m. as part of their participation in the third quarter quake drill organized by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. The drill encourages everyone to familiarize themselves with emergency response activities to lessen the effects and avoid casualties. The conduct of quarterly drills is one of the government's efforts to promote disaster preparedness and resilience among communities.
In Binangonan, Mayor Cesar Ynares spearheaded the simulation exercise to show their readiness should there be a big earthquake in the municipality.
Members of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and other national government agencies, the offices of which are located at the Binangonan Municipal government compound, also participated in the preparedness exercise.
At the Rizal Provincial Capitol, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office ushered their co-employees to the designated evacuation sites as part of the drill.
The Sumulong Park, fronting the Antipolo City hall was filled with employees and residents during the earthquake drill.
In Angono, employees hid under their working desks for several minutes before they went out of their respective offices and proceeded to the park.