CDRRMO reiterates caution amidst quakes, flooding

After another earthquake struck Davao City early Thursday morning, the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) reminded residents to always be on alert and prepare for any possible calamity.

CDRRMO Administrative Officer Lyndon Ancajas, during the I-Speak media forum on Thursday, said that although Monday’s tremor was only “moderate” or weak in intensity with no damage reported, it still is a reminder for everyone to take essential precautionary measures.

“Recently, we’ve experienced different natural incidences like earthquakes, series of landslides. We’d like to inform everybody that these incidences have been properly monitored and determined, within the capacity of our office, to relay it to the right agencies. As of the moment, we are still continuing our monitoring of the current events in our locality, specially may low pressure tayo na mino-monitor (we are monitoring this low-pressure area),” Ancajes said.

With the end to the La Niña season still nowhere in sight, Ancajes said the likelihood of natural disasters occurring in the following weeks is even higher. Residents, therefore, must make arrangements for possible scenarios by preparing an emergency “Go Bag” and having a preemptive evacuation plan.

“Mapamatyag ta sa atong panahon ug palibot kay sige’g ulan, sige’g linog. God forbid, kung naay signs of kaning landslide, mag-preemptive evacuation na tayo. Kung sige’g ulan sa inyong lugar, nagpuyo mo flood-prone area, tan-aw ninyo kung nagsaka na og sugod ang sapa, mag-preemptive evacuation na ta (Let’s be observant of the weather and the surrounding because it’s always raining, and there are earthquakes. God forbid, if there are signs of an impending landslide, let us evacuate pre-emptively. If it’s always raining in your area and you live in a flood-prone area, note if the water level is rising, then we must evacuate),” said Ancajes.

To drive home this message, the CDRRMO has set a series of exercises that has already been practiced in the city before the pandemic.

“This is one way to inform the public and prepare the public nato sa mga, God forbid, major disasters. This year we will be going back to the regular nato na mga drills and exercises. And this July we will be having the ‘shake out drill’— the Davao City earthquake and tsunami exercise,” Ancajes said.

The first-ever river-wide drill along the Davao River will also be conducted this year. CIO