Hundreds to join Cotabato City earthquake drill

COTABATO CITY - The Cotabato City government and disaster agencies, led by the Office of Civil Defense,will conduct earthquake drill Thursday.The drill will take place at about 8:30 a.m.Lawyer Cynthia Guiani Sayadi, city administrator, said the drill includes lectures and actual rescue operations in identified areas, buildings and schools. It is very important, especially for our children who are vulnerable to injuries, even death, in time of emergencies, Sayadi told DXMS Radyo Bida in Filipino. She said the disaster will also provide the necessary preparedness for residents, not only during earthquakes, but more so about another disaster that regularly hit the city - floods. Evacuation drill will also be done to prepare our people when sudden rise of river water occur, she added.Sayadi announced that the Cotabato City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has created an All Women Rescue Team. The team, composed of doctors, nurses and trained rescue personnel, is the first in the city, and probably nationwide. She explained that the all women rescue team will take care of women residents at the time of evacuation. We have experiences that our people react when male rescuers hold their women relatives in times of evacuation, she added, citing sensitivity of some people's culture.Earthquake is not new to Cotabato City, having experienced the devastating August 17, 1976 earthquake that emanated from Moro Gulf. Thousands were killed in the quake that also affected the coastal towns of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Zamboanga del Sur.In a statement, Engr. Rainier Amilbahar of Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said the earthquake drill will be done in public schools and some selected tall buildings.Also today, asimilar earthquake drill will take place in other parts of the country.