BACOLOD CITY, Philippines–Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Maranon Jr. has called on the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology to monitor Mount Kanlaon after water sources in towns near the volcano reportedly turned brownish following the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Negros Island Monday.
Murcia Mayor Andrew Montelibano and Moises Padilla Mayor Francisco Nazareno attributed the occurrence of turbid water in their respective towns to the earthquake, which struck before noon Monday off Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental and whose effects were felt in Central and Western Visayas and as far away as Mindanao.
Montelibano said fire trucks were bringing in clean water to Barangay Minoyan where potable water was contaminated.
Sulfur water, fed by the volcano, at the popular Mambukal hot springs resort in Murcia also receded.
Meanwhile, thousands of residents in five cities and six towns in Negros Occidental have started returning home on Tuesday after spending the night on higher ground and open fields amid fears of a tsunami and aftershocks, said provincial social welfare officer Liane Garcia.
Maranon called on Negrenses not to panic, saying there was no threat of a tsunami.
The earthquake caused minimal damage in Negros Occidental, Maranon said. Negros Oriental, on the other hand, bore the brunt of the tremor, which damaged houses and infrastructure and triggered a landslide, reportedly leaving dozens dead and several others missing.
The Negros Occidental provincial government would send assistance to the neighboring province, he said.
Garcia said the local governments of Sipalay, Kabankalan, San Carlos, Sagay and Himamaylan cities, and Hinobaan, Hinigaran, Pontevedra, Calatrava, Binalbagan and Isabela towns reported that families stayed overnight on safer ground, fearing tsunamis and more quakes.
Victorias City Vice Mayor Wantan Palanca said the people refused to go home because of false information, which spread irresponsibly via text messages, and the lack of proper information dissemination.
“I tried to explain to them that it was safe to go home but they refused to. The people slept in the plaza and in the church,” Palanca said.
San Carlos City social worker Cynthia Mirande said residents both rich and poor fled to higher ground in the city, also out of fear of a tsunami.
The water line in the sea had receded causing panic, she said.
Some elevated areas where residents had sought refuge were even more dangerous as these were prone to landslide, Mirande added.
Classes and office work in Bacolod City resumed Tuesday after being suspended Monday afternoon.
Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he has instructed his personnel to continue inspecting buildings for damage.
Vicfran Defante, head of the Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Management Program Division, said cracks were reported in the city halls of Cadiz and Sagay, on the glass walls of the Unitop building in San Carlos City, at the Talubangi Bridge in Ilog and on the right side of the lobby of the Gaisano building in Kabankalan City.
In Himamaylan City, work was suspended at the city hall and cracks were reported on the walls and floors of the new building of the city’s hospital, and at the Barangay 1 and Talaban bridges, at the Himamaylan gym, two classrooms of the Western Visayas State University, a classroom at the San Agustin Elementary School, and at a classroom at the Tooy Elementary School, Defante said.
Cracks were also noted on some walls and floors of the Capitol building and the Provincial Administration Center in Bacolod, Defante added.
In Moises Padilla, five classrooms and the town’s public market were also damaged by the quake.