CamSur hosts Nat’l Disaster Resilence Month celebration
By Ana-liza Macatangay
The Camarines Sur provincial government kicked off the National Disaster Resilience Month (NDRM) celebration with the Rescue March Challenge early morning on July 4. I
The activity was participated in by 72 teams or more or less 500 rescuers, responders, and other Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) practitioners from various local government units and organizations in the province.
Hundreds of participants gathered at the Basilica Minore to participate in the simulation exercise depicting a scenario of the Big One or the projected Magnitude 7.3 earthquake in Metro Manila.
Dubbed Rescue M.A.R.C.H or Mass Assembly for Rescue and Care for Humanity Challenge, the activity aimed to prepare the rescuers for the worst-case scenarios of an earthquake of immense magnitude hitting Metro Manila, causing devastating damage to the metropolis’ infrastructures, roads, bridges, and communication network.
The walk from Basilica Minore to the provincial Capitol Complex was based on the presumption that rescuers have to travel on foot, carrying their rescue equipment from the staging area to ground zero or the incident’s location.
The Rescue MARCH Challenge also signalled the official start of the NDRM celebration for the whole month of July. This year’s theme is “Sambayanang Pilipino, Nagkakaisa tungo sa Katatagan at Maunlad na Kinabukasan.”
From July 4 to 25, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) prepared various fellowship games.
From July 4-8, an All Hazard Incident Management Team –Incident Command System (IMT-ICS) training was conducted. A 45-day responders training course will be held from July 11- Aug.30; DRRM Summit from July 12 to 15; and Formulation of the Provincial DRRM Plan 2023-2030 from July 18 to 22.
From July 24-25, there will be several simulation exercises, that include scenarios during earthquake, oil spill, depot explosion, tsunami, mass casualty incident, chemical spill, volcanic activity, collapsed structure, landslides, and bombing incident at the Naga Airport.
The month-long activity will culminate on July 25 with a championship game and closing ceremony.
A resilient Camarines Sur is aligned with the priorities o Governor Vincenzo Renato Luigi R. Villafuerte as he stressed that the Camarinenses’ safety in all types of disaster is in his list of prime concerns. (PIA5/Camarines Sur)