TPES prepares for “The Big One” by: Elvi Joy Alvarado
The siren sounded at exactly 9:00 AM at Timoteo Paez Elementary School as it joins all schools and offices – both public and private in the Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) last June 29, 2017. TPES students, teachers, and the non-teaching staff, headed by Mrs. Glenda D. Tabaquirao, the principal and Incident Commander of the School Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (SDRRMC), participated in NSED in preparation for the “Big One” – a hypothetical earthquake of magnitude 8 or greater expected to happen anytime soon according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). After the siren went off, students from different grade levels in the morning session – Kinder, Grade 1, 3, and 6 responded by doing the “duck, cover, hold” and by evacuating their respective buildings immediately. Mr. Rowel S. Borja, Batang Emergency Response Team (BERT) Coordinator made sure that NSED was realistically simulated that members of BERT search the TPES vicinity to rescue individuals who collapsed and those who suffered minor injuries, training them to be equipped when an earthquake strikes. According to the Assistant Incident Commander of SDRRMC Mr. Elijio A. Banog, earthquake drills should be taken seriously so that students would know how to respond when the real thing happens, which is not to panic and to remain calm – “At least kung di man natin ma-eliminate, ma-diminish yung number ng casualties.” Although the morning earthquake drill had a smooth flow of building evacuation, the afternoon session could be given more orientation as it lacked crowd control, Mr. Banog added. Feedbacks from the SDRRMC Incident Commander Mrs. Tabaquirao took place after the drill where she reiterated the importance of having a presence of mind when faced with the threat of an earthquake hazard. She also added that it would test the impact of NSED to the TPES community if the next drill would remain unannounced. The Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill was also conducted at 2:00 PM for Grades 2, 4, and 5.