The provincial government of Bohol is extending assistance to Cebu following the deadly 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the province Tuesday night.
Governor Aris Aumentado announced that the province is sending P5 million in financial aid, along with a team of 16 medical and rescue personnel, two ambulances, and a rescue vehicle to help quake-hit areas in Cebu. The team is scheduled to leave Bohol at 1:30 p.m. today.
‘This is our help for Cebu. Our team will be heading there this afternoon,’ Aumentado said after presiding over an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning with local agencies to assess the situation. While Cebu bore the brunt of the earthquake, Bohol sustained minimal damage. Some school buildings in Sevilla, Balilihan, Ubay, Bien Unido, and Guindulman reported minor cracks that were deemed non-hazardous.
Hospitals across the province remain fully operational.
At the Gov. Celestino Gallares Medical Center in Tagbilaran City, 87 patients were briefly evacuated Tuesday night as a precaution, but they were later returned indoors after engineers cleared the hospital building as safe. Road networks remain passable, except for two bridges in Dauis town. The Castel Bridge is open only to light vehicles, while the Borja Bridge is operating on a single-lane basis due to structural concerns. The tremor, which struck at 9:59 p.m., caused a temporary power outage across Bohol and sent residents rushing to the streets in panic.
Classes and government work in the province were suspended on Wednesday to allow safety inspections of public infrastructure./coa