The PMO Misamis Oriental/Cagayan de Oro including the Terminal Management Office of Camiguin and Balingoan took part in the Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) for the 2nd Quarter of CY 2019 on 20 June at 2:00 PM.
The quarterly conduct of NSED aims to promote disaster awareness and preparedness among all citizens. For the PMO, the conduct of the drill is a way to test the efficiency and usefulness of the Offices’ response, recovery, and contingency plans; and their coordination and communication mechanism during response operation.
The simulation was participated by a total of 441 participants including office employees, passengers, security personnel, porters, vessel crew, vendors, and cargo handlers. They executed the “Duck, Cover, and Hold” while the simulated earthquake indicated by a wailing of siren was ongoing for a minute. When the siren alarm stopped, the participants quickly evacuated the buildings towards the designated evacuation area for the headcount. Simultaneously, the supposed injured individuals were attended to for first aid. The Engineering Service Division personnel meanwhile conducted damage assessment and structural integrity inspection of port facilities.
The ERT conducted a meeting for the post evaluation of the drill.—by IMR Lam