Negros takes brunt of earthquake

DUMAGUETE CITY,—At least 52 people were killed when a 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Negros and Cebu shortly before noon, causing landslides and huge cracks on highways, and violently shaking buildings, officials said.

A three-story building collapsed, while seven bridges were rendered impassable, they said.

In Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental, at least 29 people were feared dead following a landslide in Barangay Planas, Mayor Ernesto Reyes said. He here could be more fatalities in other barangays.

“They were buried in 30 feet of soil. If you had been buried from noon until now (6 p.m.), I don’t expect you to be alive,” Reyes said.

Ten others died due to a landslide at the Guihulngan national road, Reyes said.

Gov. Roel Degamo said  9-year-old  Bernadette Raidan died when a wall collapsed in Tayasan town.

Twelve other fatalities were listed by the provincial disaster council in Guihulngan, Jimalalud and Bindoy towns, and Tayasan.

In Manila, Malacañang urged the people affected by the earthquake to remain watchful and calm, and to cooperate with the authorities “while the threat of immediate dangers appears to have passed.”

As of 1 p.m. Monday, Phivolcs had recorded 16 aftershocks.

The quake triggered another landslide in the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, also in Negros Oriental. An unknown number of people were trapped.

Classes in all public and private schools in Negros Oriental were suspended, while businesses in Dumaguete City were closed.

In Negros Occidental, the earthquake caused cracks in the City Halls of Sagay and Cadiz, and the city hospital and gymnasium of Himamaylan.

A three-story office building also collapsed in La Libertad, but occupants escaped. /INQUIRER