Earthquake drill shakes CSNHS student, teachers

By Jam Madrid NAGA CITY --- At the sound of siren at exactly 2:00 p.m., more than 8,000 students, faculty members and employees of the Camarines Sur National High School (CSNHS) went out of their classrooms and offices, with their hands on top of their head as they rushed out the street. This was the scene at the CSNHS during the conduct of the “duck, cover and hold” activity for the Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) held Thursday, June 29, and spearheaded by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). Aside from the “duck, cover and hold” action, the students and teachers also demonstrated their basic skills and preparedness in firefighting, medical and first aid treatment, and tactical rescue operations or high angle rope rescue operations where victims were rescued from a high building using rope rescue equipment. CSNHS Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) Coordinator Moises Cortes said that the simulated response to an earthquake was one way of assuring the parents of the students, as well as the public, that everyone in the school was safe. “We want to assure the parents that everyone is safe here at Cam High, that’s why we give focus on the safety of the students. The planning was easy because our principal was very supportive in giving programs for us to be able to focus when it came to disaster preparedness.” To strengthen the programs on disaster risk reduction, CSNHS has created the School Disaster Risk Reduction Management Group (SDRRMG) for teachers, and the School Youth Disaster Risk Management Group (SYDRRMG) composed of around 200 students from Grades 7 to 12 as the school’s responders in times of a disaster or calamity. “We inculcate disaster awareness to our students to prepare them when an actual disaster strikes. We encourage parents to let their children join the trainings being conducted by the school for them to feel secured inside the school, and knowing that their children is knowledgeable when it comes to preparedness and mitigation on disaster,” Cortes added. For his part, Eris Joseph Tanay, a Grade 12 student and president of SYDRRMG said that the conduct of the drill was very important. “This is important in our school because Cam High has a very big population and the main campus is too crowded. Joining the group is one way of serving the school when disaster occurs,” Tanay stated. Established in 1902, Naga City-based Camarines Sur National High School is the oldest secondary school in Camarines Sur and one of the biggest public secondary schools in Bicol with a total student population of 10,870 and almost 400 employees. The conduct of the Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) in schools was pursuant to DepEd Memorandum 76 dated June 1, 2017, which aimed to test the contingency plans of government agencies for an earthquake with the impact of a 7.2 magnitude. With this, all schools and DepEd offices were directed to conduct earthquake drills simultaneously. The drill was supported by the Naga City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Bureau of Fire Protection, Public Safety Office, Naga City Police Office, and the Philippine Red Cross. PIA5-Camarines Sur