MANILA, Philippines – Rescuers scouring affected areas reported Monday (16 December 2019) the death toll from the powerful quake that hit Mindanao on Sunday has already climbed to four (4).
Recovery operations are still ongoing on Monday with rescuers using heavy equipment and their bare hands scouring collapsed buildings for survivors.
The intensity 6.8 tremors on Sunday cracked schools, toppled homes and injured dozens but largely spared big cities on the island of Mindanao, which is still recovering from a string of deadly quakes in October.
On Monday, searchers recovered the bodies of two (2) elderly women aged 57 and 73 from under a collapsed market building in Padada, Davao Del Sur while another fatality was still trapped under the debris, fire officials said in a joint press conference with Mayor Pedro Caminero Jr.
Fire official Senior Supt. Fred Trajeras said six others were missing and could be under the ruins.
“Our priority is (finding) signs of life, which we hope we can still rescue,” he said.
The first reported casualty Sunday was that of a 6-year-old child who was killed in neighboring Matanao town when her family’s home collapsed.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has only received reports of 2 fatalities from Hagonoy and Matanao, and was still waiting for information from other areas, its spokesperson Mark Timbal an ABS-CBN News report past noon said.
The agency is also verifying reports that the quake injured 31 people, he said in a text message.
Four other quakes with magnitudes above 6 had hit the region since October, state seismology office Phivolcs earlier said.
The latest quake could have been caused by the Tambulan Fault, which has a “low” chance of generating another tremor with a maximum magnitude of 7.2, said Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum.
“Nand’yan parati iyong posibilidad na mga magnitude 7 earthquake… Hindi natin iniaalis iyong possibility na kaparehong lakas o slightly bigger [earthquake] although iyong ganyang chances ay mababa,” he told radio DZMM.
Searchers were still fanning out across the quake-hit areas of Mindanao on to fully assess the damage, but have already reported several schools and hospitals were cracked.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who is from Davao, was caught up in the earthquake but was unharmed, officials said.
“The First Lady… said the car she was riding (in) was swaying,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said, referring to Honeylet Avancena, Duterte’s partner. “They are unhurt.” (IAMIGO/CNS)
