Death toll from two quakes rises to 16

MANILA,Philippines — The two successive powerful quakes that jolted wide areas in Mindanao in the last days of October have left 16 persons dead, two missing and 403 injured, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported yesterday.

The death toll left by the magnitude 6.6 quake on Oct. 29 and last Thursday’s magnitude 6.5 temblor could still go higher as there were other quake-related fatalities that remained unreported to the NDRRMC, particularly in Digos City and Magsaysay town, both in Davao del Sur.

Three of the fatalities were from Davao region while 13 others were from Central Mindanao.

Of the 403 persons injured, 14 were from Northern Mindanao, 16 from Davao region, 372 from Central Mindanao and one from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM).

As of yesterday, the NDRRMC said 6,009 families or 30,045 individuals from the 72 quake-hit areas in Central Mindanao and Davao region were directly affected by the two quakes, with more than 1,000 families losing their homes to the two strong temblors.

Of these affected families, 2,552 or 12,760 individuals have taken temporary shelter in 19 evacuation centers or tent cities in several towns in North Cotabato, particularly in Matalam and Tulunan towns and in the city of Kidapawan and in Magsaysay town in Davao de Sur.

Some 1,370 families or 6,850 persons opted to stay in the open, afraid of going back to their houses. They are now dependent on local and national government agencies for their basic needs.

A total of 1,366 out of 3,220 damaged infrastructure were totally destroyed in the two quakes in Western, Northern, Central Mindanao, Davao region and BARMM.

Officials said the integrity of several buildings and homes in Mindanao had already been weakened by the Oct. 16 and Oct. 29 earthquakes.

These include the Eva’s Hotel in Kidapawan City and several commercial establishments in Digos City, in Koronadal City, South Cotabato as well a posh condominium in Davao City. 

Meanwhile, 1,359 residential houses, mostly in the quake-ravaged Tulunan and Matalam towns and Kidapawan City and nearby areas in North Cotabato and Magsaysay town were totally destroyed.

Some 12,000 people were already in shelters across Mindanao before Thursday’s quake hit, either because their homes have been destroyed or they were too afraid to return to their residences.

For the meantime, the NDRRMC said a convoy of cargo trucks with relief goods is heading for Mindanao and is expected to reach the quake-affected areas anytime tomorrow.

The provincial and local governments in North Cotabato and local government in Magsaysay, Davao del Sur, with already dried up calamity funds, are appealing for assistance from the national government amid the prevailing precarious situation of thousands of displaced families.

“Additional help is coming,” NDRRMC spokesman Mark Timbal said.

The NDRRMC has mobilized all attached agencies to respond to appeal for help of the quake-affected residents.

Asked if there were offers from other countries to help, Timbal said there were some but these were not accepted for the time being as the national government decides based on the situation on the ground.

Thousand aftershocks

Timbal said most of the affected families came from villages located in areas considered as danger zones.

He added these families are still being prevented from returning to their homes due to the recurring aftershocks.

“Due to the magnitude of these events, small to moderate-sized earthquakes are expected to occur in the epicenter area and may continue for several days to weeks, some of which may be felt,” Timbal said.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said over 2,000 aftershocks were recorded from the quakes that struck North Cotabato in a span of three days.

A total of 417 aftershocks were recorded as of yesterday noon for the magnitude 6.5 tremor. The magnitude 6.6 quake, meanwhile, registered 748 aftershocks.

The magnitude 6.3 tremor on Oct. 16 generated a total of 910 aftershocks, Phivolcs said.

Earthquakes continued to rock parts of Mindanao on All Saints’ Day.

A magnitude 5.0 tremor struck 18 kilometers southeast of Makilala, Cotabato at 2:07 p.m.

It was felt at Intensity 5 – classified as strong – in Magsaysay, Davao del Sur and Intensity 4 in Pikit, Cotabato and Bansalan, Davao del Sur.

A magnitude 5.5 quake also shook Sarangani province yesterday morning.

The temblor happened at 10:33 a.m., with its epicenter located 334 km southeast of Sarangani, Davao Occidental.

Phivolcs director Renato Solidum Jr. said the aftershocks could persist for days or even weeks.

Phivolcs said Central Mindanao is one of the “seismically active” regions in the country because of active faults in the area, like the M’lang Fault, Makilala-Malungon Fault, North Columbio Fault, South Columbio Fault and the western extension of the Mindanao Fault (Cotabato-Sindangan Fault).

“Cotabato Trench is also a major source of earthquakes, which can affect the region. In addition, there are other nearby local faults, some of which may be covered by recent deposits and could be sources of small to strong magnitude earthquakes,” Phivolcs said.  – Helen Flores, John Unson, Rainier Allan Ronda, Romina Cabrera, Roel Pareño