The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reminded the public that this year’s fourth quarter nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill is scheduled on November 14.
In a statement, the DILG urged the concerned parties to “once again, let’s duck, cover and hold together and unite in promoting our earthquake preparedness.’’
Dubbed as “Conduct of the CY (calendar year) 2024 Quarterly NSED (nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill),’’ the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS) urged all field offices and schools to participate in the said activity.
Earlier, the DILG stressed that the barangays should share the responsibility of inspecting the buildings with the local government units (LGUs) in their respective jurisdictions to check the stability of all the structures in their localities.
The DILG noted that sometimes there are misconceptions that high-rise buildings are mostly prone to collapse but insisted that low-rise structures may topple during earthquakes.
Due to these circumstances, it was pointed out the need for the barangays to assist and regularly coordinate with the LGUs in checking the structural stability of all the buildings in their areas.
In previous meetings with the LGU officials, the DILG had discussed that the Big One (high-magnitude tremor) occurs every 400 years which is now nearing at this time.