Earthquake, tsunami drill in Zamboanga commemorates 1976 tsunami

The biggest tsunami and earthquake drill in the Philippines was held in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur on Monday, August 17. More than 2,000 residents joined the drill, including government employees and students from participating barangays.

 

Urban-based coastal barangays in particular participated in the tsunami and earthquake drill, specifically Barangays Kawit, San Pedro, Santiago, Sta. Lucia, and Dumagoc. The city government of Pagadian and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) oversaw the drill.

 

Sirens signaled residents to evacuate low-lying areas and to move to higher points to avoid danger. Medical teams were always in place in the evacuation areas to assist “victims” while local government units’ vehicles went around low-lying areas to pick up residents.

 

The drill was held to help residents remember to prepare for natural disasters and as a commemoration of the 1976 tsunami that hit Mindanao. According to Haron Damada, DDRRMC Chief, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit the Moro Gulf in Maguindanao. Just 20 minutes later, a tsunami with a velocity of 720 kph and an inundation of 500 m inland hit the Mindanao coastline.

 

On F.S. Pajares, corner Warlito Pulmones Avenue, a commemorative inscription marked the height that the waters reached because of the tsunami. Around 10,000 people were killed in the Zamboanga peninsula when the tsunami hit on August 17, 1976. In Pagadian City alone, 49,848 people were left homeless in the aftermath. — Bea Montenegro/TJD, GMA News