Kennon Road closed after quake

By Hasreel Sandee Gano

BAGUIO CITY-- Kennon Road will not be opened to traffic pending the results of the assessment and inspection of local authorities here, the Office of Civil Defense-Cordillera Administrative Region said on Thursday.

 “Due to the 6.1 magnitude earthquake that jolted Region 3 (Central Luzon) and intensity 4 in Baguio City on April 22, the opening of Kennon Road during weekends is hereby suspended effective immediately,” stated the joint OCD and the Cordillera Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) Advisory No. 3 issued on April 25.

 In the past weeks since March, Kennon Road has been regularly opened to light vehicles weighing not more than five tons from 6 p.m. every Friday until 6 a.m. of Monday to ease the traffic congestion at the other entry points to Baguio.

 “A thorough inspection will be conducted by the joint inter-agency task group Kennon Road before the temporary opening during weekends will resume,” said OCD regional director and CDRRMC chairman Albert Mogol in an interview.

 Meanwhile OCD-CAR information officer Cyr Bagayao urged the public to take earthquake drills seriously.

 He said for the public to be resilient and prepared for an earthquake, they have to know how to act accordingly.

 “We always tell the public to take the earthquake drill seriously and not just for compliance sake,” said Bagayao in a separate interview.

 He said the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) through the local DRRM councils regularly hold the national simultaneous earthquake drill (NSED) to prepare the public for emergencies.

 “We do drills because we do not know when an earthquake will happen and familiarizing the people on what to do during an earthquake will prevent the loss of lives,” Bagayao said.

 “It takes practice to know the rules and the procedure by heart," he added.

 He also advised the public to be calm, do not panic and keep abreast of any update from authorities.

Bagayao also urged the public to avoid spreading fake news or misinformation, which could cause panic to the public.

 He said everyone should first verify the pieces of information they receive by checking the official social media account of government offices before sharing them.

He added that earthquakes are unpredictable and no one can say when it will happen. -- PNA