North Cotabato town under state of calamity following quakes

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MAKILALA, North Cotabato, Philippines — Local officials have declared the entire municipality of Makilala under a state of calamity in the wake of a series of earthquakes Saturday and Sunday that destroyed or damaged dozens of homes.

Mayor Rudy Caoagdan said in an interview Monday that at least 208 families or 1,040 individuals were displaced as their homes had either been destroyed or severely damaged by the tremors.

Caoagdan said they have counted 32 houses destroyed and 133 others damaged in the villages of Luayon, Bato, Malungon, Guangan, Villaflores and Sto. Nino.

At least 11 government structures, such as school buildings and village halls, were also damaged, the mayor added.

“We are looking for relocation sites for the affected families to ensure their safety,” he said, adding the town engineering office was still completing its assessment of the extent of damage.

At least four people were injured.

A farmer said he thought his daughter was killed after she was buried under a pile of hollow blocks when Sataurday’s strongest earthquake, which had a magnitude of 5.2, struck past noon.

“I thought she was already dead. She was silent when we found her under the rubble,” said Joseph Edu of her daughter. “Only her head was above the debris. We immediately and carefully pulled her out.”

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology traced the tremors to a fault line that passes through an area from Makilala to Columbio in Sultan Kudarat.

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