Nov. 5 NSED to Simulate M8.5 Earthquake, Tsunami in Cagayan

November 5 Nationwide Drill to Simulate Magnitude-8.5 Earthquake and Tsunami Off Cagayan

November 5, 2026

2–3 minutes

SANTA ANA, CAGAYAN — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) will lead the fourth-quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) on November 5, 2026, featuring a simulated magnitude-8.5 earthquake and tsunami near Santa Ana, Cagayan. The main full-scale exercise will test response arrangements under a hypothetical event involving the East Luzon Trough, the OCD said.

The scenario places a hypothetical earthquake epicenter 180 kilometers southeast of Santa Ana. This is a drill scenario, not an actual earthquake, PHIVOLCS warning or earthquake forecast. The activity was announced ahead of the event; its completion and results have not yet been established.

Students practicing earthquake drills by taking cover under desks in a classroom. — AI Simulation

November 5 schedule and exercise site

According to a November 3 BusinessMirror report, the main NSED program begins at 8:00 a.m. The ceremonial drill signal and “Duck, Cover, and Hold” exercise begin at 9:00 a.m., followed by evacuation and scenario-based emergency-response activities. Santa Ana is the main exercise site; OCD regional offices will lead other drills around the country.

The fourth-quarter NSED coincides with World Tsunami Awareness Day, under the 2026 theme “Resilience Starts with You.” An earthquake-and-tsunami preparedness dialogue with government and disaster-risk practitioners is also scheduled.

Response activities to be tested

The exercise is intended to assess Santa Ana’s earthquake-and-tsunami contingency plan and the Cagayan Valley Regional Disaster Response Plan. The announced components include:

Early-warning activation and community evacuation
Emergency telecommunications and alternate emergency operations centers
Incident management and logistics coordination
Mass-casualty response and search, rescue and retrieval
Water search and rescue and evacuation-camp management
Protection of displaced people and handling of missing or deceased persons
Related CBRN hazard and oil-spill response procedures

These activities are planned exercise elements; the announcement does not verify that any of them has been completed or that participating agencies have achieved specified performance standards.

Why it matters to WestValleyFault.com

The NSED tests coordination among national agencies, local governments, emergency responders and communities for earthquake consequences and coastal tsunami hazards. The exercise’s announced early-warning, evacuation, communications, search-and-rescue and emergency operations components are directly relevant to preparedness for destructive seismic events.

WVF has previously covered the 2026 nationwide earthquake drill program and nighttime evacuation and response exercises in Davao City. Those reports concern separate drills.

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