Disaster drills helped prevent more deaths in Mindanao quake

Years of disaster-preparedness drills helped prevent a larger casualty toll when one of the strongest earthquakes in 50 years struck southern Mindanao on Monday, officials said Friday. Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said the preparations helped people anticipate and brace for extreme events like Monday’s quake. READ: Mindanao