THE death toll in the 6.9 Offshore Northern Cebu Earthquake on September 30 has climbed to 74, as aftershocks continue to rock the island province.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that the number of aftershocks have breached the 10,000 mark.
As of 12 noon on Thursday, Phivolcs said 10,006 aftershocks have been recorded, of which 1,767 were plotted.
At least 44 of these aftershocks were felt, with magnitudes ranging between 1 to 5.1.
The National Disaster Risk, Reduction and Management Council said the earthquake, which recorded a highest instrumental intensity of 7, also injured a total 559 people.
Most of the casualties are from Bogo City, the ground zero of the killer earthquake.
In its 6:00 a.m. Situation Report dated October 9, the NDRRMC said the number of affected people continues to rise, with reports from various affected cities and municipalities in Cebu still coming in.
So far, a total of 189,620 families or 666,439 persons have been reported affected be the tremblor.
The number of displaced persons also climbed to 7,813.
The NDRRMC said six evacuation centers continue to provide temporary shelter for many of the victims who were rendered homeless by the earthquake.
So far, a total of 71,996 were reported damaged, of which 5,969 were destroyed, and 67,027 others sustained minor to major damage.
Damage to infrastructure also climbed to 706, which includes government bridges, cultural heritage, health facilities, schools, utility services, roads, and flood control were also damaged.
Meanwhile, Phivolcs said it is currently monitoring the effect of a 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Pugo, La Union.
The earthquake generated an Intensity V earthquake in Baguio City, the country’s Summer Capital, Intensity III was felt in Aringay, La Union; Bontoc, Mountain Province’ and Sison, Pangasinan.
Initially, Phivolcs said the earthquake that occurred at exactly 10:38 a.m. could cause damage but it was later ruled out by the same agency.
‘The initial report indicated that damage could be expected was based on the preliminary parameters. However, upon further assessment, as indicated in the Earthquake Information 2, the updated data no longer meet the thresholds for expected damage. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates if there are any significant developments,’ Phivolcs said.
Visayas grid
KEY transmission services in the Visayas grid are now back to normal conditions, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said.
NGCP said the Compostela-Daanbantayan 230kV Line 1 was reenergized at around 2:18 a.m. on Octpber 7 and ‘is now operating in parallel with the earlier restored Line 2.’
Also restored was the Daanbantayan-Tabango 230kV Line 2, or the submarine cable that links Cebu and Leyte.
Meanwhile, restoration works are ongoing for the remaining line on outage, the Daanbantayan-Tabango 230kV Line 1, the NGCP said.
These lines provide N-1 contingency to the backbone transmission corridor already restored and do not affect any power customers.
N-1 contingency refers to an event that causes a glitch in a component of the power grid, the NGCP explained.
‘NGCP is working round the clock to ensure the stability and normal grid operations in Visayas following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake. Our teams on the ground continue their restoration and repair works to bolster the reliability of the transmission network,’ the agency said in a statement.
The NGCP urged power consumers to coordinate with their respective distribution utilities and electric cooperatives for localized power interruptions, even as it vowed to continue to monitor the situation and remain on alert with aftershocks still being recorded by Phivolcs.