Earthquake drill at night, everyone?


earthquake drill ocd.jpg
Government personnel practice the "duck, cover, hold" position as they participate in the First Quarter National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on March 25, 2024. (Photo by OCD)

Recognizing the fact that natural disasters could strike at any given time, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is looking to hold an earthquake drill at night to heighten the preparedness of the public.

OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said this initiative might be practiced in future earthquake drills led by the Office instead of the traditional morning trainings.

"Subukan din nating magsanay nang gabi na mangyayari ‘yung lindol. Mapapansin niyo 'yung halos lahat ng mga pagsasanay natin ay office hours. Sa gabi, tanggapin natin na lahat halos ng government officials, national and local, ay nasa kabahayan ‘yan. So mag-practice din tayo nang gabi (We will try to practice that an earthquake will strike at night. Most of our trainings are during office hours. At night, we should recognize that all of the national and local government officials are already at home. So we will try to practice at night," Nepomuceno said.

The OCD is holding the quarterly National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) to strengthen the earthquake preparedness of various sectors.

On Holy Monday, March 25, the OCD spearheaded the First Quarter NSED at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

A camp-wide evacuation drill was conducted, followed by communication exercises to demonstrate and test the government’s coordination mechanisms in the event the "Big One" strikes.

The ceremonial pressing of the alarm signalling the start of the earthquake drill took place at 9 a.m. Government personnel not only in Metro Manila but nationwide participated in the nationwide drill by practicing the "duck, cover, hold", followed by evacuation drills.

The Big One refers to a magnitude 7.2 earthquake due to the movement of the West Valley Fault. 

According to the Metropolitan Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study (MMEIRS 2004), a movement of the West Valley Fault could generate an estimated magnitude 7.2 earthquake and is considered to potentially cause the largest impact to Metro Manila.

It said the West Valley Fault, a fault system which runs from Bulacan to Laguna, has moved at least four times and generated strong earthquakes within the last 1,400 years. 

The approximate return period of the earthquakes is 400 to 600 years and the last known event along the West Valley Fault was on 1658.

This was the reason why National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Chairman and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. supported the proposal of Nepomuceno to conduct earthquake drills at night to heighten the preparation of the public for such scenario.

"Isa ring nakikita namin, maaaring magkaroon ng pinsala, alas sais ng gabi, nasa lansangan lahat ng vehicles, bus, mass transportation systems at dito gusto natin i-check yung kaligtasan (One of the things we will consider [in future drills] is there will be a massive destruction around 6 p.m. where a lot of vehicles, buses, mass transportation systems are operating so we can check the safety)," Teodoro noted. 

“Lahat po itong scenarios ay iwa-war game po natin upang sa ganoon, we get some theoretical notion of how to respond. Pero ang pinakaimportante, ang ating mga barangay disaster risk reduction management council, alerto din sa pagplano sa kanilang mga barangay, based on their features. So, patuloy na exercise po ito at malaking trabaho po ito (All of these scenarios will be part of a war game so we can get some theoretical notion of how to respond. But the most important thins is for our barangay disaster risk reduction management council to be alrt in planning based on the features in their barangay. This exercise will continue and this is a challenging task for us)," he added.

The NDRRMC Chair also reiterated the need for a strengthened campaign on preparedness as he instructed the OCD to ramp up related initiatives.

“After duck cover and hold, what do we do? Of course, normally we will wait for the barangay officials, the safety officers. But what do we do for the following days? What if the people are still on the streets? At the bus stations? What signs do we need to find after the duck, cover, hold? That is a very valuable suggestion so we need to expand our guide. What should this person dp if they are trapped on th streets? That's what I'm asking the OCD to work on, for more awareness for everyone," Teodoro explained.