Returning to normal life for Samar quake victims may take weeks – Philvolcs

A resident walks through a wooden bridge near damaged homes after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on August 31 hit the town of General MacArthur, eastern Samar province, in the central Philippines on September 2, 2012. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – A science research specialist from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Monday said that it could take days to weeks before life returns to normal in quake-hit Eastern Samar.

Erlington Olavere, a specialist from the Phivolcs’ seismology department, in an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990AM, said that they still expected aftershocks although residents of areas affected by the 7.6 magnitude earthquake have started going back to their homes.

Phivolcs has monitored 372 aftershocks as of 5 a.m. Monday.

Compared to 1990’s killer earthquake which devastated the cities of Baguio and Dagupan, Olavere said that the August 31 earthquake which hit Eastern Samar caused minimal damage.

“Halos kasing lakas ng sa killer quake sa Baguio na mas mababaw at malapit sa epicentre yung [lindol], ito 100 kilometers mula sa dagat papunta sa lupa,” he said/

Despite this, Olavere said houses should still be inspected by municipal engineers first before residents are allowed back into them.