North Luzon quake: Injuries climb to 85

MANILA, Philippines — The number of persons injured when a magnitude 6.4 earthquake shook Abra and other provinces in  Northern Luzon on Tuesday night has increased to 85.

Latest reports showed that 73 of the injured are from the Cordillera Administrative Region.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 12 were reported injured in Ilocos region.

There were no reported deaths or missing persons, but the earthquake affected 44,447 families or a total of 147,378 people from 334 barangays.

The NDRRMC said 20 families or 68 people remain in three evacuation centers.

Damage to infrastructure in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and the Cordilleras was placed at more than P95 million.

Initial reports showed that 223 facilities were affected, a majority of them in the Cordilleras.

The NDRRMC said relief assistance worth more than P350 million has been provided to quake victims.

771 aftershocks

Meanwhile, a total of 771 aftershocks of the magnitude 6.4 quake had been recorded as of 3 p.m. yesterday.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said 159 were plotted or detected by three seismic stations while 15 were felt by the public.

The aftershocks had magnitudes ranging from 1.4 to 4.8.

Phivolcs said minor to moderate magnitude aftershocks up to one degree lower than last Tuesday’s earthquake are expected to continue in the next several days or weeks.

The temblor was felt at the highest intensity of seven, which is considered destructive.

Phivolcs said there are several active faults in Northwestern Luzon, which include the Abra River, West Ilocos, Bangui, Naglibacan, Manmanoc and the offshore Manila trench.

Phivolcs director Teresito Bacolcol said the latest quake could have been a “stress transfer” from the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Abra on July 27 as it occurred near its epicenter.

The agency said 40 strong earthquakes were recorded in Abra in the past three decades. The magnitude 7.0 is the strongest among the instrumentally recorded earthquakes.

The quake left 11 persons dead while damage to infrastructure breached P1 billion. –  Romina Cabrera