BLACKOUTS hit Bohol, Samar and Southern Leyte following the 6.5-magnitude earthquake that jolted Jaro, Leyte around 4 p.m. on July 6.
Panay, Negros, Cebu and other areas in the Visayas also experienced rolling blackouts and officials were still assessing when the power supply could be fully restored.
Residents fled their houses in panic overnight on Friday as aftershocks hit the central Philippines a day after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake killed two people and injured at least 72 others, authorities said.
Rescuers pulled out 13 trapped people from a collapsed commercial building late Thursday in the town of Kananga on Leyte island, near the epicenter of the quake, local officials said.
Three provinces in the region remain without power while all schools are closed in Leyte as authorities assess the damage.
“Some residents ran out of their homes when they felt aftershocks. Some had panicked but many stayed calm because we just had an earthquake drill and they know what to do in times of disaster,” Office of Civil Defense regional spokesperson Pebbles Lluz told AFP.
“Due to supply deficiency caused by the outage of power plants in Leyte, customers in Cebu, Negros and Panay may also suffer occasional power interruptions,” National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said in a statement.
The grid operator made its statement even as the National Food Authority on Friday said there was enough supply of rice in Eastern Visayas despite the earthquake.
NFA Administrator Jason Aquino said their rice inventory in the region was equivalent to 13 days of the daily consumption.
Meanwhile, aviation authorities ordered the temporary suspension of flights at the Ormoc Airport to repair the damaged portion of its runway.
The closure affected hundreds of air travelers who were stranded in Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport since Thursday afternoon.
National Grid said it was now conducting aerial and ground patrols to inspect the areas affected by the earthquake.
The Ormoc high voltage direct current transmission line and Ormoc Substation sustained damage while a tower along the 138-kV Ormoc-Togonan Line was found leaning but had been reinforced.
National Grid has also mobilized a crew to restore the Ormoc-Togonan 138-kV Line.
Another crew was sent to Kananga Switchyard, which is owned by Energy Development Corp., to help restore power.
National Grid’s Cebu-Leyte submarine cable and its Tabango Substation in Leyte continue to transmit power to Leyte Electric Cooperative V that serves the municipalities of Tabango, San Isidro, and Villaba.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi advised industry players to ensure the safe delivery of energy to consumers in the earthquake-affected areas.
His department said that, based on its latest monitoring, the Bohol Grid experienced total power failure because it was affected by the tripping of Ormoc-Maasin Feeder load involving 64.2 megawatts.
It said National Grid declared market intervention following the earthquake due to the isolation of the Leyte and Samar areas and the tripping of the Leyte-A power plant. With Anna Leah E. Gonzales, Joel E. Zurbano and AFP
