“Preperation is Key”

Benjamin Franklin once said that By Failing to Prepare, you are preparing to Fail.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) through the Municipal
Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (MDRRMC) had conducted the second quarter of
their national simultaneous earthquake drill on June 29, 2017 at exactly 2:00 PM.

This program is a national mandate from the NDRRMC to strengthen the communities disaster
resilience and disaster preparedness and to inform the Public about the Hazards, Vulnerabilities
and Risks at times of an earthquake.

These earthquake drills are usually conducted depending on the location of the area
geographically. In Manila, since there are spots that is located near an active fault line, earthquake
drills are usually performed monthly. In our municipality, we are included in the Central
Mindanao Fault specifically in the Gupitan area and a portion of Florida and 293 square
kilometers in the municipality of Kapalong is prone to ground shaking but earthquake drils are
usually done quarterly in unison with the national simultaneous earthquake drills.

In association with the Bureau of Fire Protection, the implementation of the second quarterly
simultaneous earthquake drill was a success with a total of 14,000 participants from 36 elementary
and secondary public schools, 5 from private schools, Kapalong College of Agriculture, Science
and Technology (KCAST) and 4 establishments from the private sector.

In the second quarter’s assessment, Kapalong National High School (KNHS) had 2,700
participants with 45 points, having the rating of very satisfactory by the evaluator, Mr. Jerus
Ganiera

“Earthquakes are not like the weather that can be forcasted, it is a natural incident that can occur
anytime and anywhere. So by this program, the people of the community can prepare on what to
do” said Dymphna Palapar, Administration and Training Staff

We cannot stop disasters that come in naturally but we can fortify ourselves with knowledge that
breeds preparedness and results to survival. In that way no lives may be lost and there would be no
regerets in the end.