The Metro Manila Development Authority hailed the metro shake drill a \"success\" as thousands of Filipinos participated and learned how they should act in the event of a huge quake.\"It is a dream fulfilled. It\'s the first time we\'ve done this...there has to be more synchronization,\" said MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino Thursday(July30). \r\nIt was also lesson learned for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). NDRRMC said that whatever shortcomings they encountered in Thursday\'s drill will be used to improve their response to quake emergencies.\"I have been extremely impressed. It was chaotic in the beginning but it would be reality in this scale...it was a very effective response,\" said Mark Bidder of the UN Humanitarian Affairs Office.The drill began on time in most parts of the metro, with sirens ringing at 10:30 AM. After the simulated 45-second quake, people were seen evacuating schools, offices, shopping malls, among other locations, to seek refuge in open spaces. |