Tubod, Lanao del Norte – More than 500 employees of the Provincial Government of Lanao del Norte participated in the earthquake safety drill held at the Provincial Capitol Building, Tubod, this province.

The exercise was initiated by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) headed by Annabelle Mendez to assess the preparedness of the employees for high-intensity earthquakes and raise the level of awareness among Lanao del Norte residents on disaster preparedness.

“We are very pleased with the outcome of the drill. It was very orderly and only took 2 minutes to completely vacate the provincial capitol building”, noted Asst. Director Ana Caneda of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region 10.

Acting as evaluator for the simulated disaster, OCD Region 10 was also present to train the local safety officers on the standard emergency procedures in evacuating a building.

Overseeing the entire drill is Incident Commander Joselito Quibranza (Provincial Administrator).  Lanao del Norte is only one of the few provinces taking part in the Nationwide Earthquake Safety Drill conducted simultaneously by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).

“Even though Lanao del Norte is rarely rocked by strong earthquakes, everyone must still be prepared for the worst. Preparedness for any eventuality is key”, stressed Quibranza.

Among the responding teams evaluated by OCD are: Fire Suppression Team, Communications and Warning Team, Evacuation Team, Transport Team, First-Aid and Rescue Team and Damage Control Team.

To further improve the life-saving skills of the internal emergency responders, an enhancement training on first-aid and basic life-support is identified as the next program to be undertaken.

“Based on what we witnessed today, we can say that the Provincial Government is very much capable of responding to the needs of its component municipalities during disasters such as earthquakes”, assured Asst. Director Ana Caneda. VNL/PIO-LDN