Dagupan joins nationwide simultaneous earthquake, fire drill
BALON DAGUPAN NEWS
SCHOOL children from West Central I Elementary School rushed out of their classrooms towards the designated evacuation area during the nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill on July 22.
Guided by their respective teachers, the pupils queued quickly to a safer place moments after a simulated ‘earthquake’ scenario while medical teams of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) hurriedly responded to the injured inside the classrooms.
Members of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) also arrived to subdue the burning Home Economics Building that was caught in an inferno right after the earthquake.
At the end of the drill, Mayor Belen T. Fernandez encouraged the children to always keep in mind whatever they have learned during the drill and enjoined them to pray that nothing should ever happen again in the city like what happened on July 16, 1990.
She also encouraged the teachers, who were also provided by the city with disaster preparedness brochures, a flashlight and a cross whistle, to have a presence of mind during the disaster in order to save the lives of their students.
The drill was spearheaded by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council headed by Fernandez in partnership with the Department of Education, Philippine National Police, Department of Interior and Local Government and Bureau of Fire Protection.
On July 20, Fernandez met with the different heads of the Department of Education Schools Disaster Risk Reduction Committee and solicited their school preparedness plan and related it to the city’s family preparedness program.
Fernandez said that family preparedness means knowing the threat that affects the city like floods, earthquake, storm surge and possibly tsunami.
“Time is of the essence and for me there is no such thing as 100% percent preparedness. In our city before tsunami hits us we have already identified Privately Hosted Evacuation Centers which were identified by volunteer engineers. These buildings can withstand a strong quake and a seven-meter height of tsunami which are ideal to host evacuees. According to our PARMC, there around 200 owners who have officially given their consent to be PHECs,” said Fernandez.
On July 30, another earthquake drill will be held in the city involving all schools in the city for a citywide drill. (Joseph C. Bacani/CIO)
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