Church bells will ring at 9 a.m. today, Wednesday, to signal the start of the earthquake drill organized by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The earthquake drill will be held simultaneously in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Laguna.

A few minutes after the signal to start the drill, first responders and rescue personnel of the Makati City government will perform a number of scenarios using modern equipment and vehicles during the drill. One of the highlights of the exercise will be the putting up of the Radar Command Tent, a complete mobile command post with solar lighting, rubber boats and and other equipment.

The ringing of the church bells was encouraged by the Archdiocese of Manila, who also asked parishes and Catholic schools within their jurisdiction to take part in the second Shake Drill. It also directed parishes, schools and offices to follow the necessary guidelines involved in the actual drill.

The earthquake drill though will not interrupt masses in parishes in Metro Manila as parishes would already have finished celebrating their masses by the time the drill starts, Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Public Affairs Committee, explained.

“It’s good that it will be done on a week day at a time when many parishes in the Archdiocese have finished their Masses,” he said in an interview.

“Chances are, only parish offices will interrupt their services to join the nationwide drill,” added Secillano.

MMDA’s preparations

The MMDA had been encouraging multi-sectoral cooperation for the disaster-preparedness to save one’s self and other lives as well in the event of earthquakes.

The agency also prepared an “Earthquake Preparedness Guide for the Religious Sector” which is being disseminated to all the dioceses and parishes in Metro Manila.

The agency has recently launched a website, www.mmshakedrill.ph, to drum up and raise public awareness of the upcoming second Metro Manila quake drill.

The website features basic survival tips and list of evacuation centers in the event of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

The website will also detail the Oplan Metro Yakal Plus, MMDA’s disaster contingency plan drawn up for the regional disaster response.

In Makati

“We have highly trained first responders and rescue personnel who can successfully carry out various types of rescue operations, with imported, modern equipment and vehicles now at their disposal,” Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña said.

The mayor said the availability of a new ladder fire truck that can reach high-rise buildings (up to 20 stories) and a super tanker fire truck has boosted the city’s overall disaster response capability. The city has also acquired 11 new ambulances, two amphibious vehicles, a deployable command center, and new rescue and extrication tools imported from Germany.

At the NAIA

At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), airport personnel will hold the earthquake drill at the International Cargo Terminal (ICT) near PAL and Skylander warehouses near terminal 1. (With a report from Ariel Fernandez)

“All personnel from the different cargo houses are welcome to join the exercises as we are preparing our people, the Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) medical group and the Airport Police Department (APD) for the worst to come,” a NAIA official said.

Officials and members of the Airline Operators Council (AOC) operating at the NAIA terminals said they welcome the exercises as a way to adopt safety measure including emergency response exercises to prepare for natural disasters.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Leslie Ann G. Aquino & Anna Liza Villas Alavaren

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