To raise campus awareness and preparedness for the occurrence of earthquakes and other disasters, the Security and Safety Office (SSO), in collaboration with the College of Public Affairs and Development (CPAf) participated in the 4th Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED), at the CPAf parking area on November 9.
Before the drill, there was a short lecture on the use of Incident Command System (ICS) as an on-scene disaster response mechanism in accordance with National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Memorandum number 04, series of 2012.
SSO Special Police Assistant Chief Jonathan Maliwat served as lecturer, while Special Police Lieutenant Kristine Bernadette Matalog was the drill facilitator.
An alarm was then activated to simulate the ground shaking and to trigger the start of the drill. The ICS was subsequently activated to account for all CPAf personnel within the compound and those outside the premises.
At precisely 9 am, all faculty, researchers, students, employees, and visitors performed “Duck, Cover, and Hold” and proceeded to the designated evacuation area after the shaking stopped.
The participants, who included an SSO search and rescue team, acted out a mass casualty incident. Victims were identified by colored triage tags: red for those with severe injuries but have a high potential for survival with treatment taken to collection point first; yellow indicating severe but not immediately life-threatening; second to collect, green indicating minor injuries or walking wounded; third to collect, and last is color black, indicating no spontaneous respiration.
The activity was held in coordination with the Bureau of Fire Protection Los Baños Fire Station and the UPLB University Health Service. After the drill, SSO Director Eric Paul D. Peralta thanked all the personnel who participated in the earthquake drill.
[This article is originally published in UPLB News and Updates]
