The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 7—Central Visayas conducted a simulation exercise for Oplan Exodus in preparation for the possible escalation of the alert status of Mt. Kanlaon to Level 4.

DSWD-7 personnel who are assigned to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and camp personnel who are off duty and taking rest in their rented accommodation participated in the drill in case of a possible alert level escalation in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental.

Armed with valuable things that they can immediately grab during an emergency, including the Emergency Go Bag, the team mobilized the available vehicles and converged near the rotunda in Barangay Tagbino, Vallehermoso, considered a sorting area for the group. Vallehermoso is a neighboring town of Canlaon City.

The Emergency Go Bag provision ensures that DSWD staff can bring necessary things in times of emergency and need to evacuate to a safer place. Inside the Emergency Go Bag are items like a whistle and compass, fire steel, cutting wire, multi-purpose survival tool, surgical gloves, face mask, face towel, flashlight, band-aid tapes, and rescue blanket, among others.

Camp personnel from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) of Negros Oriental, who are also in Canlaon City for augmentation support, also joined the simulation exercise.

After the simulation exercise, the group had a post-assessment on how to improve the evacuation drill of the government personnel.

“The drill was successful, and everyone is learning the plan for Oplan Exodus. However, some things need to be considered, especially communicating with other staff and a buddy system. This is to ensure that no one will be left in case Level 4 will be raised,” said Quick Response Team (QRT) 1 Action Officer Reggie Locsin during the post-assessment evaluation.

She also informed the group that the first two (2) minutes of continuous siren is a warning that there is an incoming danger and all individuals within the 4km to 6km permanent danger zone need to evacuate, while the five (5) minutes of continuous siren is a warning that all individuals within 6km to 10 km of permanent danger zone need to evacuate and should go to the designated safe zones areas.

Meanwhile, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who are temporarily staying in the eight evacuation camps also conduct their daily simulation exercise for the Oplan Exodus. ###

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