Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 10) — The public should expect traffic, and power and signal interruptions during a Metro Manila-wide earthquake drill requiring public participation at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.

"On Friday, the public's participation will be expected," NDRRMC spokesperson Mina Marasigan told CNN Philippines' The Source.

"So [on] July 14, 4 o'clock in the afternoon, we will be doing the duck, cover, and hold — the entire Metro Manila."

The event will be spearheaded by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Marasigan added that there will likely be a five-minute power and cell phone signal interruption "just to simulate... the probability of this happening when an earthquake happens in Metro Manila."

She also anticipates heavy traffic.

“I’m pleading to our public to please understand, it is important we should see how ready our local government units are,” said Marasigan.

Metro Manila will be divided into quadrants, where various scenarios will be enacted. The north quadrant is at Veterans Hospital in Quezon City; the south quadrant is at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City; the east quadrant is at the Light Rail Transit Depot in Santolan, Pasig; and the west quadrant will be at the Intramuros Golf Course in Manila.

Local government units will have their own scenarios.

The general scenarios for all the quadrants include:

Collapsing structures

Burning buildings

Deployment of emergency hospital services

Evacuation in various establishments like schools and offices

Looting simulations in participating malls

Debris clearing

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Director Renato Solidum is expected to make a broadcast announcement at 4:10 p.m., followed by the activation of response clusters by the MMDA at 4:15 p.m.

The drill will continue from July 15 to 17 among local government units for the NDRRMC to check their readiness.

"On [July] 15, 16, and 17 we will do the simulation with [LGUs]. Where are they supposed to go? Where are their staging areas?" said Marasigan.

"Let us see how fast they can actually put up their staging areas and provide assistance to the public, so we'll be showcasing now the capabilities and capacities of our [LGUs]."

The drill comes in the wake of a magnitude 6.5 quake that hit the Visayas last Thursday.

Related: Magnitude 6.5 quake leads to casualties, power outages in Visayas

Metro Manila is also preparing for "The Big One," an anticipated magnitude 7.2 quake that will be caused by the movement of the West Valley Fault. The 100-kilometer fault line runs from Bulacan to Laguna and last moved in 1658, making it ripe for another earthquake.

Marasigan said the moving ground will make it difficult for people to run, and they are expected to follow the "duck, cover, and hold" procedure.

She added that the purpose of drills was to develop the muscle memory to take cover instead of panic.

"Dapat duck, cover and hold ka — dapat, hold your position there, huwag ka dapat tatakbo," said Marasigan.

"Kapag malakas ang ground shaking talaga — ang feeling mo nga parang kang dinuduyan eh... nakakahilo, actually. Pag pipilitin mong tumayo ka, talagang tutumba ka lang din ulit."

[Translation: You have to duck, cover, and hold — hold your position there, and don't run... If the ground shaking is strong, you'll feel like you're being rocked... it's actually dizzying. If you force yourself to stand up, you'll just fall down.]

The NDRRMC also held its second nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill last June 29 in Davao City. Its next drill will be held in Silang, Cavite in September.

Always 'duck, cover, hold'

Marasigan provided updates on damages from the recent earthquake in Visayas.

There are roughly 700 totally damaged and 1,000 partially damaged houses.

There are also two fatalities — one from Kananga and one from Ormoc — as well as 329 injured.

However, Marasigan maintains that these injuries could have been avoided.

"What they did, instead of doing the duck, cover and hold, they ran out. Pero since malakas ang ground shaking, hindi mo kakayanin tumakbo [But because the ground shaking is strong, you can't ran]," said Marasigan. "Karamihan sa kanila, nadapa... nasubsob [A lot of them tripped... and fell]. That's why we have the injuries."

A study by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, and MMDA has shown that the expected "Big One" could leave up to 48,000 deaths in Metro Manila and surrounding cities if people are caught unprepared.