Death toll placed at 48

CEBU, Philippines -  At least a hundred individuals are feared buried in barangay Solongan, La Libertad town in Negros Oriental shortly after Monday’s magnitude 6.9 earthquake, leaving close to 50 people dead and still undetermined number injured and missing.

The Army has placed the number of those confirmed dead in Negros Oriental at 48 even as other figures from other sources come in.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), meanwhile, recorded over a thousand aftershocks and warned residents near the epicenter that there could be more in the next few weeks.

“The authorities estimate that about 100 persons were buried,” said Minda Morante, director of the Office of Civil Defense in Central Visayas.

Morante, however, said they have not regarded the estimate as an official figure because retrieval operations are still ongoing in the area.

She said there are about 70 houses in the site of the landslide and disaster management officials are not discounting the possibility that some houses may just have been isolated.

“We’re now getting shovels and chain saws to start rescue because there were people trapped inside. Some of them were yelling for help earlier,” said La Libertad police chief inspector Eric Arrol Besario.

Rescuers also dug through rubble with their bare hands and shovels in Guihulngan, a coastal city of 100,000 residents flanked by mountains that was close to the epicenter.

The city’s public market, courthouse and residential houses in the area had collapsed or damaged.

Aftershocks

As of yesterday afternoon, Phivolcs said a total of 1,005 aftershocks were recorded. The strongest aftershock recorded so far has a magnitude of 6.2, which occurred at 6 p.m. on Monday, it said.

“Aftershocks can still be expected in the coming days or weeks. We expect aftershocks smaller than the magnitude-6.9 main shock. The larger the magnitude, usually the longer the duration of aftershocks,” Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said.

Damage

The Negros Oriental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council reported as estimated P632 million in damage of roads and bridges, as of 11 a.m. yesterday.

The National Telecommunications Commission-Region 7 requested Smart and Globe for the setting up of "Libreng Tawag" at the operations center in Guihulngan and other affected areas. As of 2 p.m. yesterday, Smart has already complied with the request.

The regional DRRMC also has set up its operations center in Guihulngan. Federation of Volunteer for radio communications, the Office of Civil Defense, the NTC-7, the police and other rescue and retrieval teams were operating within this center.

Volunteers were being briefed and trained to assist in the search and rescue operations. Presently, there were four rescue teams in the area, two more teams from Toledo City and Moalboal town in Cebu were scheduled to arrive there.

Binay visits Negros Oriental, Army

Vice President Jejomar Binay arrived Tuesday morning in Negros Oriental to assess the earthquake damages, while Captain Anacito Naz, PIO of the 302nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army said their count of fatalities from the earthquake rose to 48 as of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

As of press time, Naz said 30 people were still missing in Brgy. Planas of Guihulngan City and 20 others in Jimalalud town.

Of the 48 casualties, 28 were in Guihulngan City; 13 in La Libertad town; three in Himalalud town; two in Tayasan town; and one each in Bindoy town and Bais City.

Also, 40 people were reported wounded and undergoing treatment at the Guihulngan Hospital, while 60 houses vanished due to landslide in Brgy. Solongon of La Libertad and 29 houses in Guihulngan, said Naz.

Cebu aid

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama wants a P5-million standby fund prepared in case some Local Government Units affected by Monday’s quake will need assistance.

“We have the calamity funds. We can allocate P5 million. Those who will need assistance will be given assistance,” Rama said.

Some parts of Cebu province reported damages but the most affected appeared to be the province of Negros Oriental.

Similar to the recent disaster in Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City in Mindanao, the Cebu City Government is willing to provide assistance through the big brother program.

Rama also announced that the office of President Aquino has offered assistance not only to Cebu City, but also to other LGUs to ensure that all areas are prepared in case of disasters and other calamities.

Rama said he was called by the President’s Executive Secretary Pacquito “Jojo” Ochoa Jr. yesterday morning as an offset of his talk with the president last Monday night.

Rama said that Ochoa is asking him for a formal letter of request of what the city wishes to be done here in order to be prepared in times of disasters like the recent quake.

Assistance to Negros

With Cebu largely spared from earthquake, the provincial government will be extending assistance to local government units in Negros Oriental affected by the disaster last Monday.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday instructed the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office to get the report from affected towns in Negros Oriental.

“We will be extending financial assistance to the provincial government as well as the local governments in this respect,” Garcia said.

Last month, Garcia personally turned over financial assistance to the cities of Dumaguete and Tanjay in the same province that were badly hit by typhoon Sendong last December. – (FREEMAN)