SAFETY & EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS🚑 Earthquake Drill, Drop, Cover, & Hold

Earthquakes can strike at any moment, while we can never predict them, we can make sure that we are ready for them.

The recent string of earthquakes across the country reminds us that the ongoing pandemic is not the only thing we must be prepared for.

Earthquake 101 was presented to all the employees of Subic EnerZone Corporation. An earthquake drill followed immediately after the presentation.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS DRILL SCENARIO

On September 30, 2022 (Friday), a magnitude 6 earthquake struck Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The earthquake did damage the SEZ building. Some ceilings have fallen and there are some cracks on the walls.

As soon as the earthquake stopped, all personnel evacuated the building, while doing a headcount of all the employees that came to work today, two employees are unaccounted for.

ERT Team entered the building again to find the missing 2 employees. While one of them contacts the Fire Department for assistance, the others look for the missing or trapped employees.

One employee was trapped by collapsed ceiling materials on the ground floor, first raiders from the ERT Team attended to the employee while others were still looking for the other missing employee.

The 2nd employee was found inside the restroom cubicle, he/she was too scared of what happened and was unable to move even though the earthquake had already stopped.

ERT Team escorted and helped the employee out of the restroom towards the emergency exit. Just when the ERT Team was evacuating the 2 injured employees, an aftershock hit the area again with a magnitude 4.5 quake.

One of the ERT Team tried to rush out of the building but due to the magnitude of the quake, he tripped and fell on the floor from a fallen piece of equipment injuring his leg.

Once the shaking had stopped, the remaining ERT Teams evacuated the 2 injured employees to safety outside the building while 1 of them assisted their teammate that tripped over while evacuating.

The first raiders assessed further the injuries of the employees until the rescue team from SBMA arrived to assist, the first aiders assisted the rescue team and briefed them on what happened and what and where are the injuries of the employees and also accompanied them to the hospital for further checking.

Engineers and the OSSHED personnel assessed the building for structural integrity and once the building was cleared from the fallen debris, it was safe to resume work.

I am looking forward to your continuing support in making safety our priority.

When it comes to earthquakes, remaining calm is one of the best ways to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Don’t forget these gentle reminders to ensure proper action in the event of an earthquake!

• Do not panic.
• Practice DROP, COVER, and HOLD in each safe place
• Keep away from glass windows or free-standing furniture
• Learn about the earthquake emergency plans in your community, workplace, and children's schools
• Talk about earthquakes with your family so that everyone knows what to do, and come up with your family preparedness plan.

• If you are in bed, stay there, curl up, and hold on, and cover your head.
• If you smell gas, get out of the house and move as far away as possible.
• Pick safe places in each room of your home, workplace and/or school. A safe place could be under a piece of furniture or against an interior wall away from windows, bookcases, or tall furniture that could fall on you.

We never know when disaster is going to hit or when there will be an emergency. And with the conditions of the new normal, majority of us spend so much of our time at home with our families.

That's why we need to have an emergency plan even in our homes. Our emergency preparedness can go a long way in minimizing the impact of these emergencies on our families and our communities.

Take time to review our level of preparedness and encourage our friends and families to do the same!

Let's remain vigilant and maintain emergency as well as crisis preparedness. Most of all, let's continue to pray for everyone's safety and well-being.

I AM DISASTER READY!