OVER 30 personnel of the Cagayan de Oro City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (CDRRMD) are well-trained on search and rescue operations of collapsed structures.
This was assured by a city official to the public on Monday, following the 6.9 magnitude quake that hit Padada, Davao del Sur over the weekend.
Nick Jabagat, CDRRMD officer-in-charge, said his office has enough personnel ready to respond if a structure or building collapses due to earthquakes.
“We originally have 42 trained personnel, pero naay nanghawa or nag-transfer. So mga more or less, 30 nalang ang nabilin. But we also already trained the rest of the urban search and rescue personnel of the CDRRMD,” Jabagat said.
(We originally have 42 trained personnel, but some left or transferred. So more or less, only 30 remain.)
The CDRRMD also acquired equipment designed for rescue operations on collapsed structures such as extrication tools, a device that can detect sound and vibration of people trapped inside, and a camera that can be used to see and talk to the victims trapped under rubble.
Although the equipment is still incomplete, Jabagat said the CDRRMD can perform rescue operations in collapsed structures, which he described as one of the hardest jobs of rescuers.
City Mayor Oscar Moreno said the city government is ready to send a rescue team to Davao del Sur where a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck, which also affected other parts of Mindanao.
“I already talked to Colonel Monsanto and I gave him green light if he wants to send a rescue team in the earthquake-hit areas. Magbilin lang ug personnel para pud sa ato diri (We will also leave a number of personnel here as well),” Moreno said.