by Rene V. Carbayas
ISABELA CITY, Basilan, Mar 8 (PIA) – The Provincial Government of Basilan held the first, ever earthquake drill in the province, joining the rest of the country in the National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill last March 1, 2012.
At about two in the afternoon a sound of siren signaled an earthquake. After few seconds, employees of the provincial government at capitol building lined up to simulate an emergency evacuation, leaving the building premises.
Another siren signaled the arrival of response and rescue teams from various units. The Bureau of Fire and Protection checked on and put-off fire. Rescue teams from the Philippine Red Cross-Basilan chapter, the Basilan General Hospital, the Provincial Health Office, and units from the military and police quickly responded and helped simulated victims injured during the quake.
In twenty minutes the disaster response and rescue teams completed its mission.
Office of the Civil Defense (OCD)-BASULTA officer in charge Jenner Pandan said that based on his observation the province is about 80 percent prepared and ready to respond to disasters.
“The 80 percent is already high for a first time drill,” he said because usually in a first time drill, employees do not participate well in this kind of activity. “But we were impressed at the pro-active stand of the provincial government employees to this earthquake drill.”
Pandan said there are that three reasons why the drill is held, first, the drill are usually conducted on the first quarter of every year. Second, the drill is triggered out of the recent tremor that hit the country, particularly in Visayas and Mindanao. And third, BaSulTa area and the Sulu Sea are very vulnerable to earthquake and tsunami because of the existing Sulu trench and tectonic plates.
“Let us not wait for earthquakes to happen. This drill is also an opportunity to make people aware of the need to prepare for any disaster and our children in Basilan will benefit from this,” he stressed.
Designated officer of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) Anwary Akalon expressed his gratitude to the provincial government employees and the different participating agencies.
“This is purely public awareness to improve our preparedness and mitigation on the adverse effect of earthquake in our communities,” he said. He added that series of meetings were conducted to prepare for the drill
The earthquake drill forms part of the opening salvo of the week-long observance of the 38th Founding Anniversary of Basilan province on March 7. (RVC/PIA-9 ZBST)
