The imagined high-magnitude earthquake caused massive damage to the Province of Zamboanga del Sur. The regional offices of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) were heavily damaged and some portions collapsed.
At 9:01 AM, the ground shaking stopped and all personnel evacuated the building. At 9:05 AM, the NEDA9 and DILG9 incident commanders (IC) immediately counted the number of individuals that safely moved out of their respective buildings. Unfortunately, for NEDA9, the IC reported that there were five missing staff who were trapped inside the building while for DILG9, one personnel was not able to safely move out. The respective ICs reported the number, names, and the last location seen of the identified victims to their Regional Directors. The NEDA9 and DILG9 communication head called the PDRRMO hotline to seek assistance for immediate response to the trapped victims.
Search and rescue teams from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines also received a call from the communication teams of two offices requesting help with the rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, the DILG9 personnel witnessed fire starting to progress within their office compound. They initially tried a fire extinguisher to put out the fire however it grew and spread. A fire suppression team from the BFP intervened in the situation.
There was a total of six reported individuals trapped in the building - NEDA IX (5) and DILG IX (1). The individuals were identified as victims and were responded to by the search and rescue responders (SRR).
A team from the Philippine Red Cross came into the scene to administer first aid to rescued victims. The ZDS PDRRMO Ambulance was on standby and helped in the transportation of the victims to the nearest hospital when the rescuers called them via radio.
An evaluation and feedbacking was done after the exercise proper.
A representative from OCD has given a score of ‘very good’ to the simulation exercise. Some of the feedback includes the proper execution of the duck, cover and hold, walking faster than normal and the needs of the victims were met with the help of the established disaster control group of the office of NEDA9.
“Let us be prepared, let us do some exercises or drills so that we can be prepared in case of earthquakes or similar disaster happen in our area,” Director Ochotorena said. (RVC/CCP/PIA9)
