ANOTHER person has been confirmed dead after the twin earthquakes that struck Batanes Islands over the weekend, bringing to nine the total number of fatalities.
Itbayat Mayor Raul de Sagon said the body of the ninth fatality has yet to be recovered.
Another person remained missing as of Monday, July 29.
Around 2,000 residents of Itbayat have remained at the town plaza, which serves as evacuation center. Some 1,000 others have gone home.
A couple of shallow earthquakes struck Itbayat on July 27. The first quake, with a magnitude of 5.4 and a depth of 12 kilometers, struck at 4:16 a.m.
It was followed by a magnitude 5.9 quake with a depth of 7,0 kilometers at 7:37 a.m. Saturday.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 63 people were injured.
NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said the number of fatalities is still being verified.
The agency said 911 families or 2,963 persons were affected by the earthquake in five barangays in Itbayat while P47 million worth of infrastructure, including two health facilities, were reported to have been damaged.
Two schools and 15 houses also sustained damage.
Timbal assured that assistance will be provided to the affected families.
“Lilipad na po ‘yung C130 from Clark na bitbit ‘yung NDRRMC relief items including ang mga tents, generators, food packs at hygiene kits,” said Timbal.
He said personnel from the Department of Public Works and Highways were also in the area to commence the repair of damaged infrastructure.
The NDRRMC has placed its units in the said province on red alert to ensure the continuous monitoring and information dissemination in relation to the earthquake. (SunStar Philippines)