A man in Agdao district here died as a concrete wall crashed and hit him at the height of the magnitude 7.4 quake that struck on Friday morning.
The quake, which was traced off the coasts of Manay, Davao Oriental, was felt here at Intensity 5.
This brings the number of confirmed fatalities due to the quake to two, after an individual was earlier reported to have been killed after being struck by falling hollow blocks in the mountain village of Calapagan in Lupon town of Davao Oriental.
Maj. Hazel Tuazon, spokesperson of the Davao City Police Office, identified the victim as Sotero Cabili dela Cruz, 80, of Purok 3 in Agdao village, who was immediately rushed to the Southern Philippines Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 10:28 a.m.
The city’s streets on Friday afternoon were almost empty as many public transport vehicles called off plying their routes after the local government ordered suspension of work and classes to give way to rapid assessment of all structures.
The lack of public transport led many students to be stranded, prompting the police to deploy their mobile patrols to ferry would-be commuters home, for free./coa