MANILA, Philippines — The government will again test its disaster preparedness on Thursday as emergency responders, local government units and communities simulate their response to a magnitude 8.5 earthquake and tsunami off Cagayan in yet another drill, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said.
The full-scale exercise in Santa Ana, Cagayan, will simulate an earthquake triggered by movement along the East Luzon Trough, with the epicenter located 180 kilometers southeast of the coastal town.
The simulation will be the highlight of the Fourth Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) on November 5, which aims to assess the readiness of government agencies, emergency responders and communities to deal with a major earthquake and tsunami.
The exercise will test the implementation of Santa Ana's Earthquake and Tsunami Contingency Plan and the Regional Disaster Response Plan of the Cagayan Valley Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Among the response capabilities to be tested are early warning system activation, community evacuation, emergency telecommunications, search and rescue, mass casualty incident management and the activation of emergency operations centers.
The drill will also simulate the management of evacuation camps and internally displaced persons, water search and rescue, management of the dead and missing, and responses to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards and oil spills.
The OCD will lead the exercise in coordination with member agencies of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and local government units.
The NSED will begin at 8 a.m., with the ceremonial pressing of the button at 9 a.m. to signal the start of the nationwide "Duck, Cover and Hold" procedure and evacuation drills, followed by the full-scale simulation.
Similar earthquake drills and related exercises will be conducted in other parts of the country under the supervision of OCD regional offices.
The fourth-quarter exercise will also coincide with the observance of World Tsunami Awareness Day 2026, which carries the theme "Resilience Starts with You."
