The Davao and Caraga regional police are on ‘full alert’ following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck off Davao Oriental on Friday morning, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.
The tremor occurred 43 kilometers northeast of Manay, Davao Oriental at 9:43 a.m., according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
‘All affected areas, the two regions (Davao and Caraga), are on full alert,’ PNP public information chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Friday noon.
According to Tuaño, initial reports from the Davao police indicated that the Panabo City Police Station and the Talaingod Municipal Police Station sustained damage.
He also cited initial information from the Caraga police that the Magsaysay Bridge in Butuan City was damaged and temporarily closed to motorists.
Police have yet to release a detailed report on the number of officers deployed or the extent of damage to police stations, as personnel are still completing their assessment, Tuaño added.
Earlier, the Department of the Interior and Local Government advised local government units in Davao Oriental, Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Eastern Samar to evacuate coastal areas amid a tsunami warning from Phivolcs.
‘Our personnel are ready to provide security at evacuation centers. As of this report, while some centers have been established, no evacuees are yet present,’ Tuaño said.
‘He (PNP Acting Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.) is urging affected regions to tighten security measures,’ he added.