Rescuers Race To Reach Trapped After Quake; Death Toll Rises To 37; Over 32,000 Displaced

Rescuers searched the rubble on Tuesday, June 9, of a collapsed building in General Santos City, the worst hit by a powerful earthquake that has killed at least 37 people, injured hundreds and displaced over 32,000 people to reach ?two individuals still believed to be trapped inside.

Regional fire officer Edgar Tanawan, who is leading the operation, told Reuters two persons had been pulled out alive from the commercial building, housing a grocery store and other businesses, but a third was found dead. Scanners have so far detected no signs of life from the remaining two, he added.

“It’s difficult to accept, as a mother, that my son is still trapped there,” said 65-year-old Dioslinda Deluvio, distraught as she waited outside the building for news of her son, hoping he would be retrieved so they could be at peace. “I don’t know… it’s very ?hard to accept.”

Only four people were considered missing on official records in the southern provinces near where the quake struck on Monday morning, June 8, but the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) acknowledged several collapsed and heavily damaged buildings must be thoroughly inspected for possible survivors or casualties.

Latest reports from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said at least 479 people were injured.

Of the fatalities, 33 are from Soccsksargen, including 13 in General Santos City, while the remaining four are from the Davao region.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported that seven persons were swept away by strong water currents in General Santos City on Monday during the temblor – one of them died, two are missing and four survived. All are residents of Poblacion, Baluan, Maguindanao del Sur.

Officials said they hoped the death toll would not rise further as search and rescue operations continued.

As of 4 p.m. on Tuesday, at least 1,352 aftershocks were recorded and 391 were plotted, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. Of these, 35 were felt.

Phivolcs said the aftershocks ranged from magnitude 1.3 to 6.4.

The NDRRMC said a total of 88,000 people were affected. Of this number, 19,635 persons are staying in 39 different evacuation centers.

At least 51 different barangays were affected, including 26 in Soccsksargen, 19 in the Davao region and six in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Zamboanga Peninsula.

As of Tuesday, initial estimated worth of damage to infrastructure stood at P15 million in Soccsksargen and Davao regions alone.

OCD Region 12 director Rodrigo Sosmeña said at least 47 infrastructure were damaged, with 19 roads impassable, nine bridges, one seaport and a local airport damaged by the quake.

The NDRRMC said search and rescue operations, damage assessment and provision of help and support to affected communities continue.

Meanwhile, the Department of Information and Communication Technology deployed free WiFi hotspots to restore vital communications across Region 12, after telecommunication lines were also affected.

The DICT, in collaboration with the OCD and local government units, established the access points in Glan municipal plaza, provincial disaster risk reduction management office in Alabel, Maasim evacuation center, incident management team (IMT) disaster office and OCD in General Santos City, IMT in Koronadal, South Cotabato and in Balut Island, Davao Occidental.

Scenes of devastation were visible in parts of General Santos City, which is home to more than 700,000 people and now under a state of calamity, with several buildings collapsed and debris strewn across streets beneath a tangle of toppled power lines and utility posts.

Philippine disaster officials scoured damaged ?buildings to ?assess damage and worked to restore power and water for the thousands of residents affected by the disaster. The quake came eight months after the country suffered its deadliest tremor in 12 years, when a shallow 6.9 magnitude quake hit off the central island of Cebu, killing 79 people.

Damage to schools, hospitals

The Philippines experiences hundreds of quakes each year and sits on tectonically complex parts of the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a seismically active belt stretching from South America to the Russian ?Far East.

Schools, which had just reopened on Monday after a long break, remained closed as authorities checked the condition of school buildings, thousands of which sustained minor to severe damage.

A video shared by one school of the moment the quake struck ?showed a large group of children sitting on a floor swaying violently from side to side, some hugging teachers, before they fled en masse as a makeshift shelter collapsed behind them.

About 6,000 public school buildings in quake-hit provinces must be assessed before classes can resume. The quake struck on the first day of classes nationwide after a two-month summer break, and many who sustained injuries were young students who had gathered with excitement for morning flag-raising ceremonies.

Authorities have warned that buildings that sustained cracks could collapse due to aftershocks, some of them dangerously powerful.

“We cannot force the immediate reopening of schools because we have to ensure the integrity of the buildings,” according to Rafaelito Alejandro of the Office of Civil Defense.

Military response

The Eastern Mindanao Command said it has mobilized its forces and activated disaster response operations.

EastMinCom commander Lt. Gen. Adonis Ariel Orio placed all units on heightened readiness and directed them to conduct rapid assessments, coordinate with local government units and disaster response agencies and provide immediate support to affected communities.

In General Santos City, Orio led rapid damage assessment and needs analysis activities. Task Force General Santos deployed response teams for initial assessments, while additional troops and assets from the 6th Infantry Division augmented local disaster response operations.

Units from the 10th Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division, Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao, Tactical Operations Wing Eastern Mindanao and the 52nd Engineer Brigade remain ready to provide engineering, transportation, communications, medical and search-and-rescue assistance as needed.

The PCG, for its part, deployed 150 additional personnel and two trained search and rescue dogs yesterday to help search for possible earthquake survivors in General Santos City.

On Monday, the coast guard helped rescue at least 1,695 people in Sultan Kudarat.

PGC spokesperson Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said sea voyage for all types of vessels remains suspended in parts of Mindanao like Sarangani and Davao Occidental.

At least 2,092 police officers were deployed for a full-scale response in areas in Mindanao following Monday’s quake.

The police personnel are serving as augmentation forces, maintaining peace and order in evacuation centers and helping in road clearing operations to ensure delivery of relief goods to the affected communities is unhampered.

“Our local police offices in the affected provinces are already coordinating with other government agencies to immediately provide the needs of affected residents,” Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement.

Meanwhile, at least 228 police officers and 13 non-uniformed personnel affected by the earthquake are receiving assistance.

Four police stations and two regional headquarters sustained damage due to the quake.

The Bureau of Fire Protection has mobilized 969 of its personnel and 141 search, rescue and retrieval vehicles to Mindanao. Among the assets are 103 fire trucks, 23 ambulances and 14 rescue trucks.

Destroyed classrooms

At least 199 classrooms were destroyed by Monday’s earthquake, the Department of Education said.

DepEd Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service said that as of 10 a.m. on Monday, major damaged classrooms totaled 296; minor damaged classrooms, 896 and damaged facilities, 14.

At least 267 public schools suffered damage including 115 in Sultan Kudarat; 57 in South Cotabato; 36 in Compostela Valley; 17 in Bukidnon; 13 in North Cotabato; eight in Sarangani; six in Surigao del Sur; four in Agusan del Sur; four in Davao Del Sur; three in Zamboanga del Sur; and one each in Davao Occidental, Lanao del Norte, Surigao del Norte and Zamboanga del Norte.

DepEd said at least 8,208 schools in six regions in Mindanao suspended in-person classes to ensure the safety of the learners.

The agency said it will release at least P43.904 million for the repair of classrooms with minor damage; and another P7.787 million for the cleanup and clearing operation of 267 affected schools. – With Reuters, Associated Press, Evelyn Macairan, Gerry Gorit, Josiah Antonio, Emmanuel Tupas, Bella Cariaso, Roel Pareño, John Unson