The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) was placed on Blue Alert status on Sunday morning following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur on Saturday night.
In a memorandum released on Sunday morning, Assistant Secretary Hernando Caraig, Jr., Civil Defense Deputy Administrator for Operations, directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, and Philippine National Police to detail duty officers to render duty at the NDRRMC Operations Center (NDRRMC) to ensure that coordination is streamlined and they would be able to assist in preparedness measures.
The memo read, “All NDRRMC member-agencies and RDRRMCs are required to continue monitoring their respective AORs and send updates to the NDRRMOC through the NDRMMC Monitoring Dashboard.”
Meanwhile, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the Davao Region and Caraga, where Surigao del Sur is located, are on red alert and closely monitoring developments in their respective areas of responsibility.
OCD-Caraga’s personnel are continuously conducting video teleconferences with local government units and response clusters to ensure streamlined coordination.
Additionally, the OCD is coordinating with the NDRRMC and local disaster risk reduction and management offices to obtain the latest updates.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) of Davao Oriental has already conducted pre-emptive evacuations in all municipalities along the coastal waters of the province.
Similarly, the PDRRMOs of Davao de Oro and Davao del Norte are continuously monitoring the quake’s impact through local disaster officials in the province.
All the latest information from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has been relayed through various modes of communication.
PHIVOLCS lifted its Tsunami Alert at 4 a.m. after the last recorded tsunami wave was observed at the Hinatuan-Bislig Bay Station on Mawes Island.
According to PHIVOLCS, this means that the “tsunami threat associated with this earthquake has now largely passed the Philippines.”
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) assures the public that the agency and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) are collaborating with various offices and local government units to ensure immediate response efforts in affected areas.
As of 8 a.m., PHIVOLCS has already recorded 542 aftershocks.
