DAVAO TODAY | Disaster & Environment | State of calamity in Bohol, Cebu after 7.2 quake

Posted by: DAVAO TODAY Posted date: October 16, 2013 In: Disaster & Environment, Headline

Bohol map lifted from bohol.com.ph

by DAVAO TODAY

DAVAO CITY– The government has placed Bohol and Cebu under a “state of calamity” after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake damaged infrastructure and caused a reported 99 deaths.

This, as Davao netizens reacted by blaming the government’s lack of funds to prepare for disaster management.

The quake was felt around 8:12 am Tuesday with the epicenter located in Carmen town of Bohol according to the United States Geological Survey.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) confirmed 99 dead, with 90 in Bohol, 18 from Cebu and 1 in Siquijor. The rest of fatalities were reported as a result of stampede, landslide and other after effects of the quake in Central Visayas.

Some 276 were injured with 166 in Bohol, 106 in Cebu and three in Siquijor.

Some 2,533 families or 12,665 people were displaced in Bohol and are now staying in 13 evacuation centers.

The quake was also felt in Mindanao with intensity 3 in Davao City, Bukidnon province and Tacurong; intensity 4 in Cagayan de Oro and 5 in Camiguin Island, said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Phivolcs also reported 725 aftershocks with “12 events felt.”

The NDRRMC announced some bridges and roads in Bohol are impassable including Clarin Bridge, Abatan and Bacong Bridge in Cortes, Loay Bridge and interior road, provincial bridge in Mondtana and the National Highway at Laya Section.

Landslides were reported in Boljoon, Cebu Highway and Barangay Kawasan, Aloguisnan, Cebu.
Power outages were reported in Bohol; Mandaue City, Cebu; Cadiz City, Negros Occidental; and Iloilo province.

Seaports and airports in Cebu and Bohol resumed today.

The quake caused historical landmarks such as the Spanish era Baclayon Church and Loboc Church in Bohol to collapse.

Residents in Cebu posted on social media reports and pictures of buildings partially collapsed including Gaisano County Mall, Cebu Technological University, Ayala Mall and Cebu Doctor’s University in Mandaue.

Davao residents also posted comments on social media on the quake. Intensity 3 was felt in Davao as the quake hit Bohol Tuesday.

Professor Mae Fe Ancheta Templa of Alliance of Concerned Teachers said “(F)rom the beginning we know we are at risk as a country, geographically speaking…where are the funds for disaster risk reduction and management?”

Radio broadcaster Dodong Solis also reacted on the severe damaged highway in Bohol.

“Murag biskwet nga gipikaspikas …pero naay gipaabot nga pangutana sa tanan, asa diha ang bakal sa sementadong kalsada? (It’s like crumbled biscuits. We have to ask where are the steel in the cemented road)?”

Candy Darling posted on his Facebook account why there were no reports on the injured.

“I’ve been getting photographs and updates about the churches that crumbled during the earthquake. Pero kumusta man tong mga tao, pila ang naangol??? (But how are the people, how many were hurt?) Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sentimentalist and I adore old and beautiful places, pero wa pa gyud koy nabasahan sa newsfeed about sa ilang concerns sa safety sa mga tao didto. (but I haven’t read from newsfeed about their concerns for safety).”

(davaotoday.com)