THE OFFICE of the Civil Defense (OCD) XI will kick off its first quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) directed by the National Disaster and Management Council on March 25, which is set to pilot in private and public schools.
During the Kapihan forum on March 18, Ednar Dayanghirang, OCD XI regional director, said the office will pilot an earthquake drill in Rizal Memorial Colleges, Inc. (RMC), and will serve as its basis before going to other schools.
“The school has its dynamics, a group, they also have a board and disaster teams, and we have to assess how far their disaster preparedness is. After this, there will be an assessment, then that assessment will be the basis of our office, so as soon as we transfer to another university, we’ll just wait for those who will affirm their participation,” Dayanghirang said.
Dayanghirang stressed that various universities and colleges in the region may be prone to earthquake hazards, as it now has tall buildings and establishments.
In the same way, OCD XI will train institutions under the Department of Education XI and Commission on Higher Education for an Incident Command System and further organize their response units to examine if campus-based responders possess the skills to protect the students.
“In earthquakes, the population with the biggest number that stays in one area are students. At any time of the day. If an earthquake strikes, they are the ones who will possibly be affected,” he said.
The NSED will collaborate with 44 national agencies and 54 local government units in Davao Region.
