MANILA Mayor Honey Lacuna dispatched a 15-man response team to help in the search and rescue as well as clearing operations in the province of Abra, which was hardest hit by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that shook the country on Wednesday morning.
It was learned that Lacuna directed Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO) Director Arnel Angeles to personally lead a team that he himself handpicked for the purpose.
The MDRRMO team headed for Abra on Wednesday evening to aid in the search and rescue of earthquake victims who may have been buried in landslides and mudslides or collapsed structures.
Before leaving, Angeles reported to the mayor that the city of Manila had no reported casualties as a result of the earthquake which was also strongly felt in the metro.
The team of Angeles will also help in clearing roads that have been rendered impassable so that motorists and pedestrians can use them again.
According to Lacuna, Manila has a sister-city relationship with Abra and as such, the city will extend help to the citizens of that province the best and fastest way possible.
It will be recalled that the MDRRMO had also helped other provinces hit by calamities in the past.
Angeles said their operations in calamitous situations included the ones they conducted when typhoon Odette hit the province of Cebu.
The MDRRMO also helped during the eruption of Taal Volcano, particularly in the area of Laurel, Batangas.
The 15-man team is composed of personnel from the MDRRMO that include experts in search and rescue operations and in clearing operations to help Abra get back up on its feet at the soonest possible time.
The earthquake’s epicenter just two kilometers northeast of Lagangilang, Abra. (Baby Cuevas)
