One person has died after being hit by falling debris during the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that rocked Davao Oriental and nearby areas in Mindanao on Friday morning, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported.
“For region 11 (Davao region), we received a report of one dead victim due to fallen debris and subject for validation,” OCD Deputy Administrator for Administration Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said.
OCD regional director Ednar Dayanghirang said the first casualty was reported in the mountain village of Calapagan in the town of Lupon, Davao Oriental, where a residential building also collapsed.
“I just talked to the mayor of the town, who confirmed the first casualty during the earthquake,” Dayanghirang said, although he could not provide other details.
He also noted that the seawater along Barangay Dahican in Mati City was observed to have receded following the quake whose epicenter was traced 62 km southeast of Manay, Davao Oriental.
Local government units (LGUs) along the coastlines of Davao Oriental have ordered a preemptive evacuation following the tsunami warning earlier issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Phivolcs predicted that waves one meter higher than the normal tides would be generated by the quake and would arrive on shore between 9:43:54 a.m. to 11:43:54 a.m.
In Davao City, where the quake was felt at Intensity 5, which required the suspension of classes. Some banks also sent home their workers as power has been cut off in some parts of the city.
Initial reports showed minor structural cracks in schools in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City, a landslide in Camiguin, and power outages in parts of Misamis Oriental.
Damage was also reported at Ateneo de Davao University and Mapúa Malayan Colleges, while cracks were observed at Francisco Bangoy International Airport, which remains operational with no flight cancellations.
Forced evacuations were conducted in coastal areas of Southern Leyte, Leyte, and Eastern Samar and Caraga.
