The city government has created a special team that will lead the updating and implementation of the disaster management preparedness plans in all its departments and offices.

Mayor Ronnel Rivera ordered the establishment of the local government-wide disaster management team to help improve the preparedness of its offices and employees when responding to disaster incidents.

The team, which is composed of key city officials, includes an incident commander, safety officer, public information officer and marshals. It is supported by a logistics and communications group.

Rivera called for an emergency meeting of all city department heads and officials to realign and improve its disaster response systems in the wake of the recent powerful earthquakes that hit parts of Mindanao.

The mayor directed all departments to revisit their disaster preparedness plans and related mechanisms to cope with the current situation.

“We have to improve our readiness so we will become more responsive,” he said in a statement.

As an initial measure, Rivera said the local government will purchase additional disaster response equipment and materials such as bump hats, go bags, handheld radios and various emergency gears.

Coordinators and marshals will be assigned in strategic areas during disasters, emergencies and evacuations, he said.

He said additional trainings, orientations and drills will also be conducted to refresh and update the emergency and disaster response mechanisms of the city government.

The three quakes, which were felt as high as Intensity V in the city, were recorded at magnitude 6.3 on Oct. 16, 6.6 on Oct. 29 and 6.5 on October 31.

The first quake triggered a major fire at the Gaisano Mall here that left an estimated damage of around PHP2 billion and affected over 2,000 workers.

Following the twin quakes last week, the main entrance of the city hall building and the Investment Center building were declared off-limits due to cracks found on their canopies. (PNA)