The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) announced that a National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) will be happening on March 9 in preparation for the public in event that the country will be hit by a catastrophic earthquake or "The Big One."&nbsp;
OCD Joint Information Center head Diego Mariano said in an interview that the NSED will be held quarterly, and the first leg this year will be initiated at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.&nbsp;
On their Facebook page, the office reminded the public&nbsp; to observe the following steps or protocols when an earthquake occurs:
<ul>
<li>When inside a building, stay calm and do the "Duck, Cover and Hold";</li>
<li>Duck under a strong table and hold on to it. Stay alert for potential threats;</li>
<li>Stay away from glass windows, shelves, and heavy objects;</li>
<li>After the shaking stops, exit the building and go to the designated evacuation area;</li>
<li>When you are outside, move to an open area, stay away from buildings, trees, electric posts, and landslide-prone areas;</li>
<li>If you are in a moving vehicle, stop and exit the vehicle.</li>
<li>The conduct of quarterly nationwide earthquake drills is one of the government's efforts to promote disaster preparedness and resilience among communities.</li>
</ul>
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has been preparing for The Big One by giving seminars and lectures on disaster preparedness and organizing the possible deployment of urban search and rescue teams.&nbsp;
This comes following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that jolted Syria and Turkiye earlier this month.&nbsp;

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OCD: Nationwide earthquake drill for 'The Big One' set on March 9