The official number of fatalities of the Sept. 30 magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Cebu went back up to 70 yesterday as the management of the dead and missing cluster led by the Department of the Interior and Local Government continued to validate the reported deaths.
As verified so far, the Office of Civil Defense said 32 of the casualties are from Bogo City, while 14 are from Medellin, 15 from San Remegio, six from Tabogon and one each in Sogod, Tabuelan and Borbon.
The number of reported injuries is currently at 559 – with Bogo City, the earthquake’s epicenter, accounting for 180 people hurt, followed by 150 in Tabogon, 66 in Medellin, 86 in San Remigio, 20 in Tabuelan, eight in Borbon, four in Catmon, 29 in Daanbantayan, 14 in San Francisco and two in Carmen.
Latest data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) said a total of 128,294 families or 457,554 persons were affected by the earthquake.
Of the number, at least 407 families or 1,347 persons from affected communities were served inside four evacuation centers or temporary shelters.
The NDRRMC said a total of 18,154 damaged houses were reported in Central Visayas with 3,507 homes reported as destroyed.
Tent cities
Cebu residents displaced by the earthquake can now have temporary shelter following the tent cities put up by the national government.
Public Works Secretary Vivencio Dizon and Philippine Red Cross (PRC) chairman Richard Gordon yesterday led the establishment of tents in Barangay Cogon in Bogo City, alongside Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco and officials from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Cebu provincial government.
Around 200 tents were put up in Bogo City.
The PRC has brought about 2,500 family tents to be put up in several areas in Cebu. Each tent can accommodate a family of five persons and has blankets and other items for the comfort of the evacuees.
Teresito Bacolcol, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) director, said the aftershocks would last for several weeks. He also did not discount the possibility that some of the tremors would have a magnitude of 5.1.
‘Eventually the numbers will decrease. Eventually the magnitude will downgrade,’ he said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City yesterday.
Phivolcs has recorded at least 5,092 aftershocks in Cebu since Tuesday.
Food packs
DSWD has released 75,000 boxes of family food packs (FFPs) to local government units (LGUs) in Cebu, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said yesterday.
He said the 75,000 released FFPs is part of the 142,000 FFPs requested by the 11 quake-hit Cebu LGUs.
The DSWD’s Field Office-7 (FO-7) has deployed its quick response teams in the municipalities of San Remigio and Medellin in Northeastern Cebu to render disaster relief operations.
The FO-7 also continues to lead the profiling of the affected families through the use of Family Access Cards in Emergencies and Disasters in Bogo City.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)’s Gabriela Silang transported relief goods to West of Sabil Point in San Remigio, Cebu yesterday.
The PCG said that LCT Island Shipping helped in the collaborative effort of the Coast Guard District Central Visayas and Coast Guard Station Northern Cebu.
At least 23 PCG personnel, 20 personnel from LCT Island Shipping and one representative from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) assisted in the delivery of relief goods.
The said relief goods are composed of 3,300 food packs and 2,066 evacuation supply kit from PCSO and 66 sacks of rice from the Coast Guard Civil Relations Service.
PCSO general manager Melquiades Robles said evacuation kits and relief goods were also on their way yesterday to typhoon victims in Masbate.
‘We cannot turn away from the suffering of our fellow Filipinos in Masbate and Cebu,’ Robles said in a statement.
Drop-off points
In a similar development, the Department of Tourism (DOT) has offered to use the Tourist Rest Areas built in the province of Cebu as drop-off points for donations to earthquake victims.
The agency brought up the suggestion after the municipal government of Medellin, one of the towns affected by the powerful temblor, announced it has established a 24/7 drop-off area for relief item donations at the Tourist Rest Area built in front of the municipal hall.
‘Our Tourist Rest Areas here in Cebu, including the one in the Municipality of Medellin, continues to be open and it is ready to receive and be a drop-off point for those who may wish to provide assistance to the Cebuanos affected by this tragedy,’ Frasco said.
‘Other tangible relief aid to Cebu may also be dropped-off to other Tourist Rest Area locations in Moalboal, Carcar and Carmen,’ she added.