MORE than 1,500 individuals residing in Magsaysay, Davao del Sur were evacuated after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Tulunan, Cotabato Tuesday morning, October 29, 2019
Data from the Municipality of Magsaysay showed that as of October 30, a total of 1,571 individuals from 867 families are being sheltered in eight evacuation areas.
Magsaysay Mayor Arthur Davin said in a television interview that these evacuees affected by the earthquake are temporarily sheltered in elementary schools.
But Davin said the Office of the Civil Defense-Davao is fast-tracking the creation of a new evacuation center, and it is going to send tents to the area Thursday, October 31.
"Hindi pa (kami) nakabangon sa unang earthquake, eto na naman (We haven't recovered from the first quake, here we are experiencing another damage from the recent one)," Davin said, adding that they are again seeking for assistance.
Magsaysay was also among those that were gravely affected by the magnitude 6.3 quake that struck Mindanao two weeks ago and left P200 million worth of damage in infrastructure and three individuals dead.
As of 9 a.m. of October 30, Jessie Riel Parba, 15, Grade 9 student of Kasuga National High School, who was hit by falling debris when the earthquake occurred October 29, has been confirmed dead.
Three other individuals, namely, Benita Saban of Sitio Upper Asbangelok in Barangay Tagaytay, and Gilbert Superales and Miggy Attic, both residents of Sitio Labidangan in Barangay Upper Bala, all in Magsasay, Davao del Sur, are still missing.
Magsaysay Municipality Information Officer Anthony Allada said those missing are "feared to be dead."
He said clearing operatives are still struggling in the retrieval operations.
Allada also said the local government engineering office is still assessing the total cost of damage brought by the quake. Among those damaged are buildings, schools and the municipal hall of Magsaysay.
He said they are expecting that the cost of damage to structures could surpass the previous amount since the October 29 earthquake was, by far, the strongest one experienced by the municipality.
"Nakita namo nga mas nadoble pa ang mga balay nga nahagsa. Kadtong mga building sau na nga wala kaayo nangadaot, mas nilala. Naa usab mga buildings (karon) nga need na'g total demolition human ma-assess nga di na siya pwede magamit (We have seen that the number of houses damaged has doubled. There are also cracks that worsened after the recent quake. There are some buildings that are recommended for total demolition after they were found to be no longer safe for occupation)," Allada said.
He said the assessment report would also be used as basis for the municipality to once again declare another state of calamity, adding that the Municipal Government did not expect the severity of the damage since they never experienced any major earthquakes.
"That is why we are looking into long-term rehabilitation recovery," he said.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council already recorded a total of five people dead and two others missing due to the magnitude 6.6 earthquake.