The faculty, researchers, staff, and students from offices and facilities based in the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS), University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), Miagao campus, participated in the Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) for the third quarter of this year, held Sept. 7.
UPV’s Incident Command activated the siren at 2:00 pm, taking the cue from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) through the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) – Central Office, which held its drill at the Old Tagbilaran City Airport in Bohol province.
The University’s simulation of a magnitude 7.7 earthquake was paired with the threat of a tsunami, with Sulu Sea as its epicenter.
A total of 150 participants from the CFOS Faculty Center, Wet and Dry Laboratories, Hatchery, Fisheries TBI, Umali Hall, and Pidlaoan Hall were designated as evacuees and performed the “duck, cover, and hold” and proceeded to evacuate their respective areas.
Various phases, including response, evacuation, and assembly, were conducted as part of the drill, which generally intends to highlight the readiness of UPV constituents in the event of an earthquake.
Led by UPV’s Crisis Management Committee, various teams from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration, CFOS, Security Service Force, Health Services Unit, and Campus Development and Maintenance Office coordinated the activity. Prof. Nathaniel Añasco of the Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanology served as the overall coordinator for NSED volunteers during the drill.
After the drill, Asst. Prof. Ramil Atando, Project Development Assistant for Crisis Management, and members of the CMC and concerned offices gave their analysis on how the coordinators can improve protocols. (With sources from UPV CMC)
