CamSur and Naga City Hold 24-hour SimEx for the “Big One”

More than 800 responders, jointly dispatched by the Camarines Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Council (PDRRMC) and the Naga City DRRMC trooped at the “Taguig” site mock-up area as part of the comprehensive National Response Plan in the event that the predicted “Big One” will transpire.

More than 800 responders, jointly dispatched by the Camarines Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Council (PDRRMC) and the Naga City DRRMC trooped at the “Taguig” site mock-up area as part of the comprehensive National Response Plan in the event that the predicted “Big One” will transpire.

In real scenarios, earthquake can also cause victims to be trapped in their location. Aside from buildings, victims can also be in inopportune and inconvenient places like bodies of water such as rivers. Thus, another scenario required the respondents to act on residents trapped while crossing the river, just below the Colgante bridge. Another scenario was a boat that capsized at the Bicol River, with 5 passengers.

Collapsed structure could also be prison walls thus, a scenario where 10 prisoners escaped from Penafrancia police sub-station was included as part of the simulation exercise.

All of these were part of the simulation activity to check what could go wrong if an uneventful occurrence, like the feared “Big One” will happen.

PDRRMC tasked Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Camarines Sur Provincial Fire Marshall Achilles Santiago to serve as the Incident Management Team Commander while Retired Navy Captain Edgardo Guevarra headed the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as Manager.

Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Camarines Sur Provincial Head, Ana-Liza Macatangay was also tasked to serve as the EOC’s Public Information Officer. (LSMacatangay-PIAV/Camarines Sur)