VARIOUS government schools and agencies including private institutions joined the nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill on Wednesday, September 27, three days after a 5.4 magnitude quake jolted Wao, Lanao del Sur and neighboring towns in Bukidnon.
Liza Mazo, regional director of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD)-Northern Mindanao, said more people joined yesterday's earthquake simulation drill following the 5.4 earthquake Sunday, September 24.
"Daghan nag-participate karon ilabi na sa public agencies and schools kay recently naigo sa linog ang Wao and Bukidnon,"Mazo said.
However, the top official of OCD-10 is urging private entities especially those occupying high rise buildings to hold the similar drills to prepare occupants for the inevitable earthquakes.
Mazo emphasized that the quarterly quake drill aims to prepare the public on what to do during and after earthquakes.
Mazo said the OCD-Northern Mindanao wants to instill to the public the importance of proceeding to open spaces during earthquakes.
The OCD-Northern Mindanao chief reiterated that when an earthquake strikes, one should not panic but should always remember the duck, cover and hold their heads for protection before proceeding to an open space.
"Importante ang drill kay para mahibaw-an unsay buhaton on the onset ug kung ongoing ang linog. Naa bay mabakwitan? Ang ato is safe evacuation ug orderly ang pag-bakwit sa open space nga dili mag-panic," Mazo said.
"Ang challenge pud sama sa syudad nga ang open space is ang streets ra ug highway so asa padulong mao na atong gusto matudlo sa mga participants," Mazo added.
Mazo said their office is willing to assist private establishments who wish to have their earthquake drill evaluated by OCD personnel.
The OCD-Northern Mindanao also urged local government units to do infrastructure audit to assess the integrity of structures and buildings.
"Gi-encourage nato mga LGUs nga pinaagi sa ilang structural engineers matabangan paghimo sa infra audit kung ok ba ang mga buildings kung naay linog," Mazo said.