NDCC conducts quake drills in Metro

MANILA, Philippines - A major quake jolted key areas of Metro Manila yesterday leaving 30,000 dead and more than 140,000 casualties all in need of immediate medical attention. Thousand others are still trapped under the rubbles of collapsed high-rise buildings.

This is just a worst-case scenario in the minds of disaster officials coming from various government agencies when they launched yesterday a simultaneous nationwide earthquake drill to lessen the impact of a devastating 7.2 magnitude tremor on urban dwellers, like in Metro Manila.

Outgoing defense secretary and chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Norberto Gonzales citing studies made by disaster experts said that aside from the 30,000 dead and 140,000 persons injured, a 7.2 magnitude quake is also expected to render two million individuals homeless in Metro Manila alone.

Speaking before students and teachers of Benigno S. Aquino High School in Makati City where the first quake drill was held and witnessed by incoming Vice President Jejomar Binay yesterday morning, Gonzales said that when a major tremor hits Metro Manila it is also expected to trigger at least 500 fires all over the place.

This is why, he said that NDCC has been launching a quarterly earthquake drill to create awareness and train the public on the ‘dos and don’ts’ in event of a major quake and other form of major disasters.

Aside from regular disaster drills, the NDCC is also continuously coordinating with other countries to ensure outside help like what happened during the onslaught of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, Gonzales said.

From the public school in Makati City, the next stop of the earthquake drill was at Ortigas Business District in Pasig City wherein various disaster units to included those coming from Baguio City and Olongapo City used cranes with high ladders as well as helicopters in rescuing “trapped” occupants inside and atop damaged high-rise structures.

The Ortigas earthquake drill was followed by patients’ care and hospital evacuation held at the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City.

The nationwide exercise was capped by a disaster demonstration drill participated in by various military rescue teams along with their equipment held at the parade grounds of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at Camp Aguinaldo.

NDCC administrator Glenn Rabonza, meanwhile, said that yesterday’s simultaneous drill virtually covered treatment of hazardous materials (Hazmat), fire suppression, collapsed structure search and rescue (CSSSR), high angle rescue and helicopter rescue. – With Jose Rodel Clapano