Albay Village Becomes Part Of Worldwide Tsunami Drill

By Rhadyz B. Barcia, The Manila Times Southern Luzon Bureau
From ABS-CBN Interactive

BUHATAN, Santo Domingo, Albay - Once the church bell tolls, signaling an oncoming tsunami, residents of this remote coastal village start scrambling to higher ground for safety, bringing with them whatever belongings they can take.

Following directional signs set up by Philippine Institute Volcanology and Seismology, villagers here on Wednesday went through a tsunami drill—an exercise that was done simultaneously in the Pacific Rim—supervised by the municipal disaster coordinating council.

In the drill, close to a thousand people took with them foods, mats, water and other personal belongings as they sought the safety of higher ground. Part of the drill had them "chicken-walk" uphill.

Among them was Roxanne Manapat, 12, who cuddled her youngest sister while passing through the slippery part of the road on the way to the evacuation area, some 20 meters above the shoreline.

Tsunami-warning bulletin
Pablo Torrealba, meteorologist and United Nations Development Program observer from Chile, told The Times that the Pacific tsunami-warning bulletin was "recorded" at 3 a.m. in Chile.

From Hawaii to Manila, the advisory was received six minutes later. The bulletin was relayed to the Office of Civil Defense in Legazpi about 3:17 a.m. The warning was sent to the provincial disaster management office at 3:20 a.m., before Santo Domingo disaster officials finally got the message at 3:25 a.m.

"If an earthquake occurs, the possible affected communities have one day to prepare in case a destructive tsunami sweeps across the Pacific region," Torrealba said

Assessing the drill, he said: "We’re very impressed with their preparedness. It’s a perfect tsunami drill."

The first Exercise Pacific Wave ’06 held in this town was part of a precautionary measure to prevent a similar calamity that occurred on December 26, 2004, when an undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia, triggering devastating tsunami.

The killer waves claimed nearly 250,000 lives and damaged property worth billions of dollars.

Dr. Renato U. Solidum Jr., PHIVOLCS director, said the exercise "is a timely test of the current procedures of the Pacific tsunami-warning system and will help identify the strengths and weaknesses in each country, including the Philippines."

While the tsunami drill was being conducted here, residents living in the coastal areas of Ilocos Sur were warned to move to higher ground because of big sea waves along the shorelines of the province early Tuesday morning.

Governor Luis Chavit Singson ordered all mayors in the coastal towns to monitor the situation.

He convened the members of the provincial disaster coordinating council to prepare for rescue and relief should the situation worsen. With reports from Gilbert Lazaro