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Friday, March 29, 2024

Quake drill in Metro set this week

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Rain or shine, the metro-wide earthquake drill set this week will push through, according to the Metro Manila Development Authority.

MMDA general manager Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. said the Shake Drill would happen this week amid the continued inclement weather brought by the monsoon rain enhanced by tropical depression “Henry.”

He said staging the drill on a rainy day would also give the agency and the Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council a chance to prepare for worst-case scenarios.

 “We can do the shake drill the easiest way possible but what if an earthquake happens on a critical time? This way we can prepare for the worst case possible,” Garcia said.  

 Garcia also warned that the shake drill, aimed to prepare the public in case the Big One strikes, could cause traffic gridlock in the metropolis.

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 “We are anticipating that the drill will affect the flow of traffic in the metropolis,” he said.

 The shake drill will involve staging of different scenarios, conducted by local government units, private institutions, schools and establishments, in different parts of the metropolis.

Telecommunication networks will broadcast the drill through emergency cell broadcast and SMS messages to its subscribers on the actual day. 

Companies, churches, schools, and institutions are urged to sound their own alerts or bells while radio stations will air an alert to signal the start of the drill.

The MMDA will come into play by mobilizing personnel to designated emergency operations centers in four quadrants in the metropolis.

“Once they hear the alarm, motorists who would like to participate in the drill can stop for a minute,” said Garcia.

Amid the inconvenience that the activity may bring, Garcia stressed that the event also aimed to promote a culture of preparedness among the public for a major earthquake.

“We want to do a shake drill in a more realistic environment. We are doing this to prepare everyone to minimize damage that earthquake may cause. When the Big One happens, we must be prepared,” said Garcia.

He also urged the public to use the hash tag #MMShakeDrill on the day of the drill.

The fourth Metro Manila Shake Drill, according to MMDA, will sustain and improve the public’s awareness and consciousness towards a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. 

Various local governments units, are also conducting preparations for the looming danger brought by “The Big One”—which could possibly caused by the West Valley Fault that crosses Marikina, Pasig and part of Taguig City.

In 2004, the Japan International Cooperation Agency conducted a study in close coordination with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

Based on the study, the cities identified as vulnerable sites in case a Big One strikes were Manila, Quezon City, Pasig and Taguig.

The fault system comprises of the 10-kilometer East Valley Fault in Rizal, and the 100-kilometer West Valley Fault, which passes through six Metro Manila cities and parts of the Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal provinces. 

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