The Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) told the public on Friday to be on high alert following successive earthquakes and reminded of the importance of safety drills.

A 3.5 magnitude earthquake jolted Magpet, North Cotabato, on Sept. 6 at 3:02 p.m. Intensity 3 (weak) was felt in this city, followed by a magnitude 4.7 earthquake at around 3:51 p.m.

Ezra James Fernandez, CDRRMO operations assistant, said this is where the regular practice of earthquake drills and evacuation exercises must come in, especially in schools.

“One of our interventions is to conduct information drives in our schools. Not only in schools but also in private companies,” Fernandez said in an interview.

The CDRRMO’s ongoing information and education campaign in schools, Fernandez added, seeks to prepare students in the event of calamities.

Fernandez said schools may also request the CDRRMO to conduct disaster preparedness activities for their students.

Damage assessment

The CDRRMO reported that the tremors resulted in minor damage in the city’s eight villages.

The reports said 125 students from various public schools were rescued – 38 were taken to hospitals while 88 were catered to on-site by the schools’ respective Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction Management Committee.

“Most of these students experienced difficulty in breathing with some even losing consciousness out of sheer panic,” he added.

At the Calinan National High School, at least four classrooms on the fourth floor were damaged.

Classes in affected grade levels are temporarily held at the school’s gymnasium as the City Engineers Office has yet to conduct an assessment on the structural integrity. (PNA)