Quake drill set at Angat today

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines  – The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) is holding this morning a massive evacuation and rescue drill at the Angat Dam in Bulacan as part of readiness measures in case the water reservoir collapses due to a powerful earthquake.     

Amira Ortega, acting operations chief of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the drill starts at 9 a.m. in “two vital places” at the Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

An hour later, she said another contingent in Calumpit will also start conduct rescue exercises as the town would be among the first to be affected by a collapse of Angat Dam.     

“The drill is a comprehensive preparation in anticipation of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake with a possibility of dam break in the Angat reservoir area located beside the West Valley Fault,” Ortega said. 

“We must prepare for even the unexpected and we are anticipating the worst case scenario of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. We must be on track to improve and update our preparedness in order to ensure that the government can deliver even in a scenario wherein almost all are victims, ” she added.

Ortega cited NDRRMC studies indicating that once Angat Dam collapses, massive flooding would submerge low-lying areas in Calumpit and Hagonoy.       

But Ortega said evacuation areas have been identified in these two towns in case such a situation occurs.   

The NDRRMC said it has coordinated with Bulacan and Calumpit officials on the closure today, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, of the segment of MacArthur Highway from the Caltex station approaching Labangan 7 Bridge, near the Calumpit public market, up to Labangan Bridge 1 in Barangay Caniogan to give way to the drills.

Undersecretary Benito Ramos, NDRRMC executive director, will observe the drills at Angat Dam and Calumpit.