The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is verifying three reported deaths attributed to the effects of the magnitude-7.4 earthquake that destroyed buildings and forced the evacuation of some residents from coastal towns following a tsunami alert, which has since been lifted, on Friday.
In an updated advisory, the OCD through Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said residents in the affected coastal areas may now safely return to their homes after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) canceled the tsunami warning.
The alert covered the provinces of Davao Oriental, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Eastern Samar.
“There is no longer any tsunami threat in the areas that were earlier placed on alert,” Alejandro said. “These areas are now put on stand-down mode so residents can already return.”
The OCD executive noted that rapid damage assessment operations are ongoing, while reports of three fatalities from local authorities are still being validated.
Alejandro said additional reports from the ground were being confirmed. It earlier reported that one death has been logged in Davao Region due to fallen debris.
Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang said two more fatalities were reported in the province due to heart attack. All three deaths were reported in Davao Oriental’s capital city of Mati.
The OCD said it was validating information if the two additional deaths were indeed related to the earthquake.
Alejandro said disaster response operations were in full swing as all government agencies were mobilized to assess the extent of the damage and provide immediate assistance to affected communities.
To support local government units (LGUs), Alejandro said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also prepositioned 100,000 family food packs, which include 5,000 ready-to-eat meal boxes in Davao City for immediate distribution.
“Our response is ongoing. We urge everybody to continue to cooperate and listen to authorities as far as announcements or future actions that will be taken by our government,” Alejandro said.
