Negros quake death toll now 39

MANILA, Philippines—The death toll from Monday’s 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Negros Oriental rose to 39, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council official said Friday.

NDRRMC executive director Benito Ramos in a phone interview said that five bodies were found, bringing down the number of missing people from 71 to 66.

Ramos said that search and rescue teams retrieved two bodies in Barangay Solongon in La Libertad town and three more from Barangay Planas in Guihulngan City.

Retrieval operations were still ongoing, he added.

The  Philippine Army’s 542 Engineering Battalion also deployed its bulldozers to the area, Ramos said.

Meanwhile, the NDRRMC’s latest bulletin said that 1,413 aftershocks were recorded after Monday’s earthquake,  87 of which were felt.

In Negros Oriental, 21,076  families or 93,937  persons were affected by the earthquake, and  17,719 families or 88,575 persons were served inside and outside evacuation centers, the report said.

A total of 2,977 houses were also damaged.

The government has allocated P16.7 million worth of relief assistance.