The number of reported deaths due to the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that rocked southern Mindanao on Monday climbed from 45 to 47, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The NDRRMC situational report of the tremor’s effects, as of 8 a.m. on June 11, showed that 35 of the reported deaths were in the Soccsksargen region and 12 from the Davao Region.
‘These numbers are being validated and verified by the mass casualty cluster led by the Department of the Interior and Local Government,’ Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator Asst. Sec. Raffy Alejandro said in Filipino in an interview on DZRH Thursday morning.
‘It’s rather difficult to collate because of the lack of internet and the intermittent signals. We want our data to be accurate,’ he added.
Meanwhile, 688 persons have so far been reported injured, while 31 others remain missing, according to the NDRRMC.
It added that 75,324 families were affected by the earthquake in 291 barangays in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region, Soccsksargen and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Meanwhile, 12,641 houses were reportedly damaged during the tremor, of which 2,289 were reported as ‘totally damaged,’ said the DRRMC.
He also detailed that the estimated damage to infrastructure, so far, is P666.5 million.
‘The infrastructure audit is ongoing to ensure that the structures still standing are safe to return to. We’re still collating the damaged structures,’ Alejandro pointed out.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck 32 kilometers southwest of Maasim, Sarangani at 7:37 a.m. on Monday.