More than 300 participants from SM City Bacolod joined Thursday the Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED), the mall’s first full-scale preparedness exercise after the pandemic restrictions were lifted.
The drill was held while the establishment was in full operation, enabling the SM emergency response group to simulate real-time scenarios in case of an earthquake, a press release from the mall said.
Employees and mall tenants practiced basic safety measures, such as the duck-cover-and-hold, and familiarized themselves with exit points and the mall’s command center.
Customers were also encouraged to participate in the earthquake drill.
Simulation exercises covered security and crowd control, rescue, evacuation, clearing, first aid and communications, and cooperation with the proper government disaster risk reduction authorities.
Present to observe the activity were Fire Officers 2 Harold Oquindo and Japhet Mar Trinidad of the Bureau of Fire Protection.
“The threat of earthquakes and other disasters are real and we note the satisfactory execution of SM’s NSED efforts,” said Oquino. He added that they appreciate the company’s participation in the drill and look forward to continued improvements in emergency response.
The mall has continued to support and join the quarterly NSED, even during the pandemic, with employees and tenants participating in online and in-office exercises.
SM Supermalls fully supports the national government in its call on all its agencies and units and on private sector participation in preparation for natural disasters, such as an earthquake.
“This is a good exercise where our employees, security, and agency personnel, affiliates, and tenants can put into practice the consistent safety reminders on what to do during an earthquake,” said Julia Javellana, SM assistant mall manager and this drill’s incident commander.
The 82 SM Supermalls and other properties of the SM Group, including its businesses and subsidiaries, participated in the NSED. ||
