The twenty-first day of February 2019 marked the National Earthquake Drill for the Philippines, which the University of the Philippines (UP) dubbed as #UPShakeDrill. All constituent units of UP, including the UP Open University (UPOU), prepared for and participated in the event. The UPOU Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Committee, chaired by Associate Professor Consuelo Habito, spearheaded the event for the university.
At the UPOU, briefing for all safety marshalls was done three days before the event. Safety marshalls assigned for every floor and building were oriented about the process and were given responsibility to ensure that employees within their jurisdiction were informed.
During the drill, the marshalls were able to successfully guide the employees and concessionaires to the assigned evacuation area. Once all heads were accounted for, including utility persons and security guards, the debriefing was made. The #UPShakeDrill at UPOU, took less than 30 minutes and was done successfully. The drill was also a venue to evaluate what other equipment and training UPOU still needs to ensure that it will be ready come any disaster.
In keeping with UPOU’s flagship program, Climate Adaptive and Resilient UPOU (CARe UPOU), the DRRM Committee has been on top of the initiatives concerning the preparedness of UPOU and its employees for any type of disasters. (ACLlamas)
