Photo by Comenei Ali/BIO
COTABATO CITY—The Bangsamoro Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (BDRRMC) organized a widespread earthquake drill on Thursday, June 8, aimed at cultivating a strong “culture of disaster resilience” among local government units and key stakeholders at the grassroots level within the region.
The exercise sought to enhance preparedness and response capabilities in the face of seismic events, fostering a proactive approach to mitigating potential risks and ensuring the safety of communities in the earthquake-prone region.
BARMM ministries, offices, agencies, and local government units (LGUs) actively participated in the nationwide earthquake drill as mandated by the NDRRMC memorandum no. 006 S. 2023, and BDRRMC memorandum no.008 S. June 05, 2023.
Officials and employees performed the ‘duck, cover, and hold’ technique to become acquainted with emergency response procedures to minimize the impact of potential disasters and mitigate casualties.
“Given the vulnerability of our region to natural hazards such as earthquakes and reflecting from the devastating 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake, our participation in this quarterly earthquake drill is part of our continuing preparedness efforts to help minimize the possible destructive impacts of future disasters caused by earthquakes particularly the potential loss of lives in our region,” Bangsamoro Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (READi) head Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo said.
Meanwhile, BARMM Senior Minister Abunawas Maslamama pointed out that the drill is vital in re-assessing the government’s preparedness and disaster-response capacity during earthquakes.
“These particular hazards put the region highly vulnerable due to the presence and movement of major fault zones such as Cotabato trench that caused massive destruction and loss of lives in the region during the August 17, 1976 Magnitude 8.0 Moro Gulf earthquake,” Maslamama said. (Majid Nur/BIO)
