Quake-weary Abra folk spend nights outdoors

CAMP OUT Members of this family in Lagayan, Abra, stay in their yard outside their damaged house to ensure their safety while aftershocks from the magnitude 6.4 earthquake that hit the province on Tuesday continue to rock the town. —PHOTO COURTESY OF LAGAYAN MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

BAGUIO CITY—At least 200 houses in Lagayan town, Abra province, were damaged by the magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck northern Luzon on Tuesday night, forcing several families to stay and sleep outdoors out of fear for their safety, authorities said.

Situated near the epicenter of the latest powerful tremor to hit the province, Lagayan continued to experience aftershocks ranging from magnitude 1.4 to 4.7, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Phivolcs had recorded more than 500 aftershocks in Abra and nearby provinces and these could continue for several days to weeks, causing villagers to stay in open spaces near their homes to avoid falling debris from damaged walls and ceilings, according to the Lagayan local government.

Some families, including children, were seen sleeping on “papag” or wooden beds or in makeshift shelters.

Assistance

In a report on Thursday, the local office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said it had already provided tents to families that were displaced by the quake, which hit almost three months after Abra and some parts of Luzon were jolted by a magnitude 7 temblor on July 27.

Speaking at the Laging Handa briefing in Manila, DSWD undersecretary for special concerns Edu Punay said an initial P198,000 worth of humanitarian assistance, including family food packs and modular tents, had been distributed to affected families in Abra on Thursday.

The DSWD is also distributing P10,000 in cash aid to families whose houses were damaged by the earthquake, starting with eight in Dingras, Ilocos Norte.

Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, Office of Civil Defense spokesperson, said initial reports from the Ilocos and Cordillera regions pegged the public infrastructure damage at P53.7 million. More than 2,000 houses were also damaged.

TEMPORARY SHELTER Department of Social Welfare and Development workers in Lagayan, Abra, start putting up tents for families displaced by Tuesday’s strong earthquake, the second to hit the province since the magnitude 7 temblor in July. —PHOTO COURTESY OF LAGAYAN MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

Around 40,000 families were affected and more than 200 remained in evacuation centers, he said.

Another guest in the briefing, Abra Vice Gov. Jocelyn Bernos, reported that 42 people suffered minor injuries in the province. She said damage to property in Abra was initially estimated at between P24 million and P25 million.

According to the DSWD, many houses in Lagayan were already destroyed and were beyond repair due to the second tremor.

The Department of Education (DepEd) said in-person classes would proceed in Abra despite the latest earthquake.

At least 66 schools in the province were damaged by Tuesday’s earthquake. Two others were also damaged in Mountain Province, said Cyrelle Miranda, DepEd Cordillera spokesperson.

Damaged hospital

In Ilocos Norte province, the government-run Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) sustained the “worst damage” from the quake among the public structures and facilities there.

In a television interview on Wednesday, Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc said MMMH&MC, the largest hospital in the province, was “wrecked” when the earthquake shook the ground, knocked out power, and forced the evacuation of the hospital’s patients.

Manotoc, who inspected the hospital along with officials from the Department of Health, said the initial cost of damage to the 200-bed capacity facility was P20 million.

The damage caused by Tuesday’s quake to the hospital was also “worse” than what it incurred in July, according to Dr. Maria Lourdes Otayza, MMMH&MC’s medical center chief, during another television interview. —REPORTS FROM VALERIE DAMIAN, VINCENT CABREZA, JOHN MICHAEL MUGAS AND JEROME ANING

READ: Abra quake leaves 44 hurt, affects 40,000 families — NDRRMC