OCD tests backup center in case of NDRRMC hub destruction amid disaster

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Friday inaugurated and held a simulation exercise at the newly-constructed alternate Government Command and Control Center (GCCC) in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.

According to the OCD, the new facility is a backup hub in case of destruction of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City in a disaster.

In 2017, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council proposed  to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to establish an alternate GCCC in the three major islands of the country.

The GCCCs, which are located in Nueva Ecija, Cebu, and Butuan, will operate similarly to the NDRRM Operations Center using satellite communications with real-time video, voice, and data transmission.

Among the ICT equipment set up in these facilities are video wall system, projector, network attached storage, high-frequency based radio, among others, the OCD said.

The Department of National Defense under its Quick Response Fund funded the GCCC in Luzon. For the GCCCs in Visayas and Mindanao, the funds will come from the Department of Public Works and Highways.

According to the OCD, the idea from the NDRRMC is part of the preparations for the possible magnitude 7.2 earthquake or "The Big One."

Among those who attended the inauguration were NDRRMC chairperson and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, NDRRMC executive director Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, and other officials from various government agencies and uniformed services.—AOL, GMA News