Chairman Emerson Carlos of the Metro Manila Development Authority on Monday urged various sectors in the National Capital Region to join the second earthquake drill scheduled on June 22 for the people to prepare in case of a major earthquake.
“Six million [participants last year] is not enough. We need all sectors of our society to participate. We need to engage the 14 million residents of Metro Manila. We need to engage the residents of Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and Laguna,” said Carlos.
The MMDA on Monday officially launched www:mmshakedrill.ph, where the public will get basic, but very vital, survival tips and list of evacuation centers in the event of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake.
“What is the purpose of this website? To minimize the victims. They will be able to get all the answers that they need here. All the procedures that we are going to do and all other data like Oplan Metro Yakal,” said Carlos.
Under the Metro Yakal Plus, the MMDA is responsible for command and control, and search and rescue operations if the Big One jolts Metro Manila.
“You can also see here [website] the staging areas and evacuation areas for different local government units. The local disaster risk reduction management offices will have their own evacuation sites. You can see in the website a map of those evacuation areas near you, as well as hospitals and field hospitals,” he added. “We are encouraging everybody now to use not only the website but also the hashtag #MMShakedrill.”
Last week, the MMDA conducted a series of meetings with members of the Association of Barangay Chairmen in the 16 cities and one municipality in Metro Manila to encourage more people to participate in the event.
“This time, we are targeting residents because last year school children and business communities joined the event. We want residents to join, it is highly possible that the quake will happen inside the house,” Carlos said.
The event was organized in close coordination with local and regional disaster risk reduction management officers, public information officers in Metro Manila, and different media organizations.
To ensure maximum public participation, the website will feature the instructions on how to sign up as participants, whether by individual or by group, in the 2nd Metro Manila ShakeDrill, according to Carlos.
MMDA officials, along with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, have already been sitting down with various government agencies and different sectors of society for the review of the 1st Metro Manila ShakeDrill held July 30 last year.
During the series of coordination meeting, MMDA executives also encouraged participants to simulate a more realistic and new scenarios to challenge the disaster preparedness and response of every group.
The MMDA earlier advised motorists and commuters to brace for traffic along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue where participants will hold a scenario wherein the Guadalupe Bridge in Makati City will collapse.
The scene will also feature the quick arrival of rescuers at the site to save the victims from drowning while others scour the water for survivors.
“With the success of the first Metro Manila Shake Drill last year, we would like to challenge ourselves to do better and be better prepared in the event of a catastrophic earthquake,” said Carlos.
During the simulation of the Guadalupe Bridge collapse scenarios, the MMDA chief said traffic on the outermost northbound lane of Edsa will be at a standstill for approximately an hour.