• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Earthquake Exercise Tests Guam's Preparedness

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS110930-02
9/30/2011

By JoAnna Delfin, Joint Region Marianas Public Affairs

SANTA RITA, Guam (NNS) -- The military and various agencies from the government of Guam participated in the Marianas Rumble earthquake drill in Guam Sept. 21-22.

The two-day training, hosted by Joint Region Marianas, tested the response capabilities of various local and federal entities.

Participating organizations included U.S. Naval Base Guam; Andersen Air Force Base; Commander, Submarine Squadron 15; U.S. Naval Hospital Guam; Navy Computer Telecommunications Station; Guam High School; Cmdr. McCool Elementary/Middle School; Government of Guam; and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

"Exercise Marianas Rumble is part of an annual plan to exercise our response and recovery plans from a major natural disaster," said Joint Region Marianas Training and Readiness Program Director Timothy Moon.

During the scenario Sept. 21, an imaginary 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck 50-70 miles away from Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The earthquake set off a chain of simulated disaster situations such as fallen buildings, fires and trapped civilians around the island that prompted emergency responders.

"It is important to exercise our emergency response teams in a variety of locations and under varied conditions to allow them to demonstrate [their] capabilities," said Moon.

On the second day of the exercise, training coordinators created a simulated earthquake of similar magnitude near Mindanao, Philippines, that generated a tsunami designed to hit Guam.

Various key players from local, federal and military entities met at U.S. Naval Base Guam headquarters where they discussed specifics of the impact from a tsunami and what to do in a real-life situation.

"We picked that location because it will generate the strongest tsunami effect on Apra Harbor," said Moon. "We want the team to think about the worst-case scenario and prepare plans to mitigate the damage."

After the two-day exercise, Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) Training Director Randy Morgan evaluated the response efforts of Joint Region Marianas' emergency coordinators and participants.

"My team and I visit every region within CNIC on their emergency preparedness and [Joint Region Marianas] continues to be the top dog in being prepared for disaster response out of all the regions," said Morgan.

Due to the island's critical location in typhoon alley, coordination with local, federal and military agencies is essential to ensure the best precautions are taken in the event of a natural disaster.

As the exercise came to a close, Moon applauded all of the participants and encouraged them to note what they've learned and evaluate where they can improve.

"Self-evaluation highlights some of the more critical feedback of exercise participation because people always strive to find ways to perform better," said Morgan. "We note participant comments then align, standardize and synchronize them with future training efforts."