THE evaluators noted an improvement on the execution of the duck, cover and hold protocol by participants of the earthquake drill Thursday, November 10, 2022, in Zamboanga City.

Employees and clients of local government offices executed the duck, cover and hold protocol at the first sign of an earthquake as they participated Thursday, November 10, in the 4th National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED).

Seven local government offices, including an Army camp, participated in the 4th NSED.

The buzzing of the alarm siren in city hall signaled the start of the earthquake drill.

“It is much better compared to previous earthquake drills,” Disaster Officer II Abdel Azsad Kanti of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) said after the drill.

Kanti, head of an evaluator team, said they rated the performance of participants in the 4NSED in a scale of eight as “the inadequacies we experienced in the drill is very minimal.”

He said that the majority of the participants were able to execute the duck, cover and hold protocol and emergency evacuation.

The conduct of NSED is aimed to promote disaster preparedness as well as test the readiness of the different agencies.

The drill was organized by the CDRRMO in collaboration with the Office of the Civil Defense and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology and other agencies.