Cordillera, Ilocos regions need at least P1B to restore damaged infra

UP FOR REPAIR The Abra Provincial Hospital in the capital town of Bangued is temporarily closed due to structural damage after a magnitude 7 earthquake rocked northern Luzon on July 27 in this photo provided by the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC), which has sent a medical team to Abra to assist the affected residents. —PHOTO COURTESY OF MMMH&MC

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — Abra province and a number of localities in the Cordillera and Ilocos regions devastated by the magnitude 7 earthquake would need at least P1 billion to rebuild or repair damaged infrastructure, including public schools and hospitals, as these areas continued to cope with strong aftershocks.

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake jolted Abra province early Monday morning, the latest aftershock to hit the province that has yet to get back on its feet five days after a magnitude 7 temblor struck it and other parts of northern Luzon.

Monday’s strong tremor that struck at 7 a.m. was one of at least 2,010 aftershocks, ranging from magnitude 1.4 to 5.1, that were recorded in northern Luzon since the powerful quake on July 27. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the latest strong earthquake struck at 2:48 a.m. about 4 kilometers northeast of Abra’s town of Villaviciosa, at a depth of 13 km.

Villaviciosa is about 43 km from Abra’s Tayum town, the epicenter of the magnitude 7 quake that rocked the north and west parts of Luzon on July 27.

The magnitude 5.1 aftershock was felt at intensity 5 in Abra’s Dolores town; in Vigan City and the towns of Sinait, Bantay, Banayoyo, Nagbukel, Gregorio del Pilar, Suyo, Sugpon, San Ildefonso, Santa, Magsingal, San Juan, and Cabugao, all in Ilocos Sur province; the towns of Pinili and Badoc in Ilocos Norte province; and the towns of Besao and Sagada in Mountain Province.

It was also felt at various intensities in Baguio City and in the provinces of Benguet, Apayao, Cagayan, Quirino, Isabela and La Union.

Repair

At least P1 billion would be needed to repair or reconstruct infrastructure destroyed or damaged by the powerful quake in the Cordillera, officials said.

Last week’s earthquake left Abra with P449.2-million worth of damage to infrastructure and would require P480 million to rebuild property that could not withstand the strong tremor, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said.

Elsewhere in the Cordillera, the government will need P534 million to repair or rehabilitate P493-million worth of infrastructure lost to the quake, the DPWH said in a report on Monday.

DPWH is still clearing debris on the Halsema Highway, the main artery used by truckers shipping vegetables to the lowlands, as well as fresh landslides on the Calanan-Pinukpuk-Abbut Road between Mountain Province and Kalinga.

Abra Gov. Dominic Velera said classes in both private and public schools in the province remained suspended indefinitely.

The Abra provincial disaster risk reduction and management office (PDRRMO) has yet to release the data on the number of schools damaged by the earthquake. But an initial assessment by the Department of Education showed that among the badly hit schools were Pacpaca Elementary School in Luba town and Maguyep Integrated School in Sallapadan town.

Five people in Abra were killed during the earthquake, four of whom were buried in a landslide in Luba.

Displaced families

As of Sunday, 50,091 families in Abra, or 190,053 people, were affected by the quake, PDRRMO data showed.

It said 1,038 families, or 3,517 individuals, remained in evacuation centers while 7,010 families, or 26,211 people, were forced to camp out in fear of stronger aftershocks.

In the Ilocos region, at least 212 schools were damaged while 15 more schools were destroyed by the quake, according to the Office of the Civil Defense.

At least 45 health facilities in the Ilocos region were also damaged by the quake, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Sunday.

Citing data from its regional health emergency management staff operations center, the regional DOH said there were 124 people, mostly from the outpatient departments of these facilities, who were injured during the quake due to falling objects.

Dr. Paula Paz Sydiongco, DOH regional director, said that they were personally evaluating the damage caused by the earthquake to health facilities across the region to provide the necessary aid.

Sydiongco said an additional supply of medicine was given to the Ilocos Sur government to augment the needs of the province after the earthquake.

—REPORTS FROM VINCENT CABREZA AND JOHN MICHAEL MUGAS