THE first flood response and evacuation drill conducted last Thursday by the City Disaster Coordinating Council (CDCC) headed by outgoing   Mayor Benjamin Lim was hailed a success.

Held as part of the city’s implementation of Project  PROMISE (Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia), the exercise took off simultaneously from different sites – the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of the CDCC at the Waste Management Division, Mangin Barangay Hall and the Dagupan City Water District.

The activity was observed by Anup Karanth of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), Office of Civil Defense Regional Director Armando Duque and representatives of the CDCC in Baguio and the Municipal Disaster Coordinating Councils in towns adjacent to Dagupan.

Simulating a flood situation, the drill started when Mayor Lim, as chairman of CDCC, mobilized rescuers and directed them to conduct full-blast emergency and rescue operations to save “flood victims” and affected families in Mangin.

Public Order and Safety Office chief Robert Erfe-Mejia, also the civil defense officer, said the drill also simulated evacuation and rescue operations and the flow of information and communications among line agencies, non-governmental organizations, CDCC and Barangay Disaster Coordinating Councils.

It was like a real flood situation, minus the rampaging water, as rescue teams moved swiftly and used assorted emergency devices, such as rubber boat, heavy-duty life jackets, two-way radios, megaphones, bamboo rafts, rope, emergency lights, and transistor radio, among others.

The exercise also demonstrated techniques in identifying possible holding areas and evacuation centers, rescuing drowning victims in rivers, and sorting and creating injured calamity victims.

“Through this drill, we were able to determine how the CDCC and the Barangay Coordinating Council responded in certain emergency situations,” said Mayfourth Luneta, program coordinator.

 The volunteer groups and agencies that joined the activity were the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, Police Hotline Movement Inc., Kabalikat Civicom, Philippine Guardians, Brotherhood Inc., Delta Communicators In c., Dagupan Spectrum Communications Inc., Bangus  Riders of Dagupan, Scooter Riders of Dagupan, Kabayan Action Group, Riders Association of Dagupan Inc., PANDA Fire Brigade, Dagupan Practical Shooting Association, Stop D.E.A.T.H unit, Region I MedicaL Center and the Philippine National Red Cross.

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