Padada, Davao del Sur—Authorities here on Monday said three people had been confirmed dead, two of whom had been recovered, following the magnitude 6.9 quake that hit the town and other areas on Sunday afternoon.
READ: 6.8 quake jolts Davao; kid dies
The figure brought to five the total number of victims killed in Sunday’s quake in Davao del Sur, including the six-year-old girl in Barangay Asinan in Matanao town, who was hit by falling debris.
Fire Senior Supt. Fred Trajeras, BFP 11, said the bodies of Elsa Ababon, 57; and Evangeline Artiaga, 67; were pulled out of the collapsed Southern Trade Commercial grocery store in Barangay Poblacion on Monday morning.
“The other confirmed casualty has not been pulled out yet,” Trajeras told reporters.
He said there were at least six persons inside the collapsed grocery store based on the account of a survivor.
Trajeras said this was the main reason they have shifted from plain recovery to search and rescue anew.
Mayor Pedro Caminero quoting the town’s police said only one family had reported about a missing relative.
He did not say who was the missing though but said in total, six persons also suffered varying degrees of injuries from the tremor.
Caminero also said they were looking at liquefaction in the collapse of the grocery store, which he said was built around 20 years ago.
“It survived the previous major quakes with little damage or no damage,” he added.
Trajeras said they were using heavy equipment to safely remove debris and find the six missing persons.
He said search, rescue and retrieval teams are now using life detection and life finder instruments.
“We are trying to listen to heartbeats and movements to locate them. However, these instruments could also give false signs because it would detect the movement and heartbeats of other animals,” Trajeras added.
Locals milling around the collapsed grocery store building said they believed that there are more people trapped inside as it was market day when the quake struck.
“The grocery store was a major place here. It would be full on Sundays that you would have difficulty moving around,” one local said of the three-story building now reduced to a single floor.
“I believe there are more people inside who are either dead or waiting to be rescued,” said another.
Caminero said despite the difficulties, they were trying their best to pluck out people alive.
Caminero said they were still uncertain of the amount of damage and assessments were still being done. But he said some government buildings are now useless, including the police office and the fire station.
In Digos City, several buildings that survived the series of quakes in October had either collapsed or suffered more damage.
Mayor Josef Cagas said they were also trying to assess the damage.
Across Davao del Sur and the nearby Davao Occidental, the provincial governments declared the suspension of classes as aftershocks, some moderately strong, continued to be felt as of Monday.
Sunday’s tremor cracked schools, toppled homes and injured dozens but largely spared big cities on the island of Mindanao, which is still recovering from a string of deadly quakes in October.
The collapsed market building was near the epicenter of the 6.9-magnitude quake and is in the same region that was hit by three tremors above 6.0 in a matter of weeks in October.
Those quakes killed some two dozen people and forced tens of thousands into shelters as well as heavily damaging homes and offices.
Searchers were fanning out across the quake-hit areas of Mindanao to fully assess the damage, but have already reported several schools and hospitals were cracked.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who is from Davao and was there during the quake, was not hurt.
The government said it would provide assistance to the families affected by the 6.9-magnitude quake that jolted Southern Mindanao.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government has mobilized all frontline disaster response and humanitarian assistance units to provide help for all the victims.
President Duterte is closely monitoring the progress of ongoing operations to thoroughly evaluate the damage of the quake, Nograles said.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology placed the epicenter of the magnitude 6.9 quake, west of Matanao in Davao del Sur.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday approved the temporary suspension of work in the Davao provinces.
Guevarra said that the regional prosecutor covering the Davao provinces would give way to the inspection of the prosecutors’ office to ensure the safety of their prosecutors and other personnel in the area. With AFP and PNA
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