Caloocan schools to conduct disaster drills

MANILA, Philippines - Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri directed Thursday the local government’s public safety and traffic management office to conduct earthquake drills in all public and private schools in the city.

“We have to be ready all the time. We do not know when disasters strike. In most cases, we are caught unaware. That’s why we have to conduct earthquake drills to prevent tragedies, especially in public places like schools,’’ Echiverri said.

The local Division of City Schools has also issued a memorandum directing city schools to hold their own earthquake drills, as prescribed under the education department’s Disaster Preparedness Program, the mayor said.

Echiverri issued the order following a killer quake that hit Haiti recently where thousands of people were killed. He noted that minor earthquakes also hit the country a few days after the Haiti disaster. The mayor also directed the leaders of the city’s 188 barangays to educate their constituents on earthquake safety in the case of a similar incident.

Private companies in the city were also urged to conduct similar disaster preparedness drills.

Echiverri said the Philippines is one of the countries located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions usually take place.

He said that about 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes and 80 percent of the largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire.      – Pete Laude