MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Wednesday said it would be staging next month an earthquake preparedness drill in Bulacan and Laguna which will be similar to the "Metro Manila Shake Drill” held across the Metro last July 30.
MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said the earthquake drill will be done on September 8 in areas located in the two provinces which are also traversed by the 100-kilometer West Valley Fault.
The earthquake drill will be held simultaneously in Norzagaray and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan; San Pedro, Biñan, Calamba and Cabuyao in Laguna. This is aimed at raising awareness and promoting a culture of preparedness should a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Just like the Metro Manila Shake Drill, an earthquake alert will be sounded off at 10:30 a.m. Participants are instructed to perform the “duck, cover and hold” technique. They will then be evacuated to designated areas. Life-threatening aftermath scenarios, such as fire, collapsed buildings, people trapped in cars and homes will also be staged to see how rescue teams respond.
Based on the map of the Valley Fault System released by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the West Valley Fault also transects portions of Bulacan (Doña Remedios Trinidad, Norzagaray, San Jose Del Monte City); Laguna (San Pedro City, Biñan, Sta Rosa, Cabuyao, Calamba); Cavite (Carmona, General Mariano Alvarez, Silang) and Rodriguez, Rizal.
Tolentino stressed the importance of regularly holding earthquake drills to instill a culture of preparedness.
“While natural disasters cannot be prevented, mitigating measures can be put in place so that we can reduce the casualties and injuries as well as the impact on the economy," he said.
Up to 6.5-million individuals and organizations participated in the Metro Manila Shake Drill in all 17 local government units in Metro Manila.