MALOLOS CITY—Prepare for the worst.
This was the advice of Neri Amparo, Central Luzon director of the Office of Civil Defence (OCD) to Bulakenyos after a simulated earthquake drill at the Bulacan State University campus here on Tuesday.
According to Amparo, a Japanese-funded study claimed that a 7.2-magnitude earthquake may hit Metro Manila along with the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga as it will have a radius of 100 kilometers.
“We don’t know when disaster especially earthquake will hit but we know that the country is rocked by an average of 20 earthquakes a day, some of which, we don’t feel,” she said.
“We have to prepare for the worst case scenario because anything can cost lives,” she added.
Amparo also advised officials of the Bulacan State University to come up with their own disaster response team saying that in case of massive disaster, trained individuals on rescue operations may be assigned or called to respond in other places.
“It is important that the Bulacan State University to have its own disaster response team so that while waiting for outside group, they can already address immediate needs of students injured in possible disaster,” she said.
As the largest state university in Central Luzon, the Bulacan State University has over 25,000 student population.
This is one of the reasons why Dr. Mariano de Jesus, president of the Bulacan State University, requested the Provincial Disaster Management Office (PDMO) of the provincial government of Bulacan to conduct a regular simulated earthquake drill within the university campus.
De Jesus said that aside from drills, students also attend seminars on disaster awareness.
For their part, Amparo and Liz Mungcal, head of the PDMO, said that disaster preparedness awareness is one of the keys in responding disaster situations.
“If people know what to do in times of disaster, we can minimize loss of lives,” Mungcal said.
The same was echoed by Amparo who stressed that anybody who wish to respond to disasters, “should know what to do including the risk involved”.
She said that a person must secure his or safety first, then his or her family before responding to the needs of others.
This was the advice of Neri Amparo, Central Luzon director of the Office of Civil Defence (OCD) to Bulakenyos after a simulated earthquake drill at the Bulacan State University campus here on Tuesday.
According to Amparo, a Japanese-funded study claimed that a 7.2-magnitude earthquake may hit Metro Manila along with the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga as it will have a radius of 100 kilometers.
“We don’t know when disaster especially earthquake will hit but we know that the country is rocked by an average of 20 earthquakes a day, some of which, we don’t feel,” she said.
“We have to prepare for the worst case scenario because anything can cost lives,” she added.
Amparo also advised officials of the Bulacan State University to come up with their own disaster response team saying that in case of massive disaster, trained individuals on rescue operations may be assigned or called to respond in other places.
“It is important that the Bulacan State University to have its own disaster response team so that while waiting for outside group, they can already address immediate needs of students injured in possible disaster,” she said.
As the largest state university in Central Luzon, the Bulacan State University has over 25,000 student population.
This is one of the reasons why Dr. Mariano de Jesus, president of the Bulacan State University, requested the Provincial Disaster Management Office (PDMO) of the provincial government of Bulacan to conduct a regular simulated earthquake drill within the university campus.
De Jesus said that aside from drills, students also attend seminars on disaster awareness.
For their part, Amparo and Liz Mungcal, head of the PDMO, said that disaster preparedness awareness is one of the keys in responding disaster situations.
“If people know what to do in times of disaster, we can minimize loss of lives,” Mungcal said.
The same was echoed by Amparo who stressed that anybody who wish to respond to disasters, “should know what to do including the risk involved”.
She said that a person must secure his or safety first, then his or her family before responding to the needs of others.
