SAFETY FIRST Some residents of Barangay Namarabar in Peñarrubia town, Abra province, prepare to sleep at a makeshift outdoor shelter to be safe from the aftershocks from Wednesday’s powerful earthquake. The government’s earthquake monitor recorded more than 800 aftershocks as of Thursday afternoon, including some as strong as magnitude 5.0. —Luis Agad Jr./contributor
MANILA, Philippines — The total number of fatalities in the magnitude 7.0 Abra earthquake has climbed to six, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Friday.
Information from NDRRMC showed that five of the confirmed casualties were from the following areas: Bangued, Abra; La Trinidad, Benguet; Tuba, Benguet; Balbalan, Kalinga; and Bauko, Mountain Province.
NDRRMC said one of the reported deaths is still under validation.
Aside from six deaths, four people remain missing while 136 were also injured, the NDRRMC also said.
Some 19,486 families from two regions were affected by the earthquake, while a total of 1,583 houses were also destroyed.
The tremor, which occurred 8:43 a.m on Wednesday, which prompted a thousand aftershocks.
The province of Abra has since declared a state of calamity on Thursday.
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5 now dead in Abra earthquake, says NDRRMC