Earthquakes strike without warning, life-protecting actions must be taken immediately at the first indication of ground shaking. There will not be time to think through what to do. Therefore, of all earthquake preparedness measures, earthquake drills are the most important.
Thus, Mabalacat City College joined the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council's first-quarter online Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill on March 11, 2021. In compliance with the minimum public health measures, employees were requested to conduct the said drills inside their offices.
According to the Office of Civil Defense, the drill is graced by NDRRMC Chairperson and National Defense Secretary Voltaire T Gazmin, joined by NDRRMC Executive Director and Civil Defense Administrator Undersecretary Alexander P Pama, and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Director Renato U Solidum Jr., other NDRRMC member agencies representatives and members of the media are present as well.
The scenario is derived from the results of the Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study (MMEIRS 2004) and the GMMA – READY Project in 2014. Both detailed impact scenarios of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake along the West Valley Fault (model 08, MMEIRS), the worst-case scenario for Metro Manila and nearby Provinces.
“Our safety does not rest in the hands of one person or government agency alone. It rests in our very hands as we put them together in the concerted effort of building safer, adaptive, and resilient communities”, said Sec Voltaire Gazmin.
