DAVAO CITY—The government-run Davao de Oro Provincial Hospital in Montevista town sustained some major damage from the magnitude 6 earthquake that rocked the province and most parts of Mindanao on Wednesday, Feb. 1, the provincial disaster risk reduction and management office (PDRRMO) reported.
Barely 11 minutes after the earthquake, the disaster office immediately received a call from the Provincial Capitol for the immediate evacuation of all patients and employees of the hospital.
According to the PDRRMO’s initial damage assessment report, the excessive movement of the buildings during the earthquake resulted in the cracking of walls and column plasters.
The inspection team also noted the progressing column cracks in the pay ward building’s ramps and the major damages to the hospital’s dietary building.
The inspection team also noted the falling debris observed from the ceiling of the CT scan area; broken glasses at the administration ward and a falling hazard near the exit door of the doctor’s quarters.
Before 8 p.m. on Wednesday, the province’s search and rescue team evacuated all patients to an open space near the hospital.
The patients were later moved to the Davao de Oro Sports complex while others were referred to the Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City.
Some hospital buildings, however, only sustained minimal or no damage at all and had been recommended as safe to occupy.
As of 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, some patients were already allowed to return to the safe parts of the hospital, a PDRRMO staff told the Inquirer by phone.
Landslides were reported in the villages of New Sibulan and Mayaon in Montevista town while a house collapsed in Barangay Magsaysay, Nabunturan town.
As of 2 p.m. on Thursday, February 2, Phivolcs recorded 383 aftershocks, with magnitude ranging from 1.3 to 3.6.
The provincial governor called off classes and work in the entire province on Thursday, February 2, as engineers and rescue workers tried to assess the extent of damage.