The last National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) for this year will be held on November 9 in Casiguran, Aurora in line with the observance of “World Tsunami Awareness Day.”
“Fourth quarter NSED is conducted every November in line with the observance of World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) on the fifth of the said month,” the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said in a statement over the weekend.
The fourth quarter NSED will be live-streamed through the Civil Defense PH and NDRRMC Facebook pages and the program will commence at 8 a.m. to be followed by the ceremonial pressing of the button at exactly 9 a.m.
The OCD and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), meanwhile, called on the general public to participate in these emergency exercises.
Casiguran, Aurora was chosen as the ceremonial site for the fourth quarter NSED to commemorate the magnitude 7 earthquake that struck the province on August 2, 1968.
Records from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that tall waves along Casiguran Bay were observed and tsunami probability was assessed as “positive” with an estimated height of three meters in areas along Casiguran Bay.
“Meanwhile, as host of this quarter’s NSED, the earthquake and tsunami contingency plan of the municipality will be demonstrated through a simulation exercise, focusing on an earthquake that generates a tsunami in the coastline of Casiguran,” OCD added.
The exercise will test the municipality’s earthquake emergency plans through a demonstration of response capabilities in the event of a strong earthquake and tsunami.
The OCD reiterated the importance of public participation in capacity-building activities like NSED wherein various stakeholders such as academic institutions, business establishments, government offices, and all households are enjoined to participate in the drill and conduct earthquake and evacuation drills in their respective areas.
The OCD, as the executive arm of the NDRRMC, is continuously implementing various capacity-building programs and activities for the general public.
One of these is the conduct of NSED that seeks to educate the Filipinos on what to do before, during and after when an earthquake strikes.
During an NSED, earthquake emergency plans and interoperability of rescue teams are being tested through demonstrations of response capabilities on command and control systems and processes.