Quake death toll rises as new tremor strikes
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2019 16:30:46 +0000
PORAC, Pampanga: Rescuers scrambled to reach some two dozen people feared buried under a supermarket building in Porac, Pampanga that collapsed in a deadly earthquake on Monday, as a powerful new tremor hit Samar Island on Tuesday.
A total of 16 people were recorded dead on Tuesday following the 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Central Luzon, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
Fifteen of the fatalities were from Pampanga, and one, a six-year-old boy, from San Marcelino, Zambales.
Of the 15 dead in Pampanga, five came from the collapsed Chuzon Supermarket in Barangay Cangatba in Porac and 10 from villages in Porac and Lubao towns and Angeles City.
About 100 others were injured by falling rubble, including in Manila, according to police.
More than 400 aftershocks had been registered since the initial quake, seismologists said.
Classes were suspended in many schools in Metro Manila and neighboring areas to allow building inspections. Government offices in quake-affected areas were ordered closed.
Fresh quake
A strong earthquake at magnitude 6.5 shook Samar Island at 1:37 p.m. on Tuesday, with the epicenter in San Julian, Eastern Samar.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the strong tremor was also felt in Northern Samar, Western Samar and Tacloban City at intensity 5; and in
Masbate, Legazpi City in Albay and Sorsogon at intensity 4.
San Julian experienced four aftershocks after the strong quake.
The latest quake sent terrified locals fleeing into the streets, with images on social media showing cracked roads, crumbling church walls and shattered glass.
“No one started crying, but of course some panicked because it was really strong,” said Rey Estrobo, a supervisor at a hotel in Borongan town, near the epicenter of San Julian.
“We’re still getting hit with aftershocks, even as we speak,” he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Toll could rise
The toll from the Luzon quake could rise as crews fanned out across the mostly rural region to assess damage in isolated hamlets that lost power and communications in one of the area’s strongest tremors in years.
Scores of rescuers in Porac were using cranes and jackhammers to peel back the pancaked concrete structure of Chuzon Supermarket where the Red Cross said 24 people were unaccounted for.
“Every minute, every second is critical in this rescue,” Cris Palcis, a volunteer rescue dog handler, told AFP. “Time is short for the people under the rubble, so we have to be quick.”
Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda told journalists that rescuers could still hear at least one person trapped beneath the rubble, but the digging was proceeding delicately to avoid accidentally crushing the survivor.
The NDRRMC, on blue alert status since Monday, reported that 29 structures and buildings sustained damage following the strong quake.
Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, military spokesman, said responders from the Philippine Army and the Bureau of Fire Protection rescued nine persons stuck in the collapsed supermarket.
A report from the Zambales Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said Waring Serano, 6, a resident of Barangay Buhawen, suffered massive injuries after being hit by falling rocks during a landslide.
Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said there was “quite a big damage” on Pampanga roads, amounting to about P200 million.
In neighboring Bulacan province, roads were passable and no major damage was reported.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who attended a briefing in Porac, suspended the operations of all Chuzon branches.
‘Really swaying’
The quake also damaged several centuries-old churches, which were crowded with worshippers in recent days as the majority-Catholic Philippines marked the Easter holiday.
Fr. Roland Moraleja, who is based in Porac, said the 18th-century belfry of the St. Catherine of Alexandria Church collapsed in the quake.
High-rise buildings in the capital swayed after the tremor struck Monday evening, leaving some with large cracks in their walls.
Thousands of travelers were stranded after aviation authorities shut down the secondary Clark Airport, which is located on the site of the former US military installation that lies about an hour’s drive north of the capital.
It was still closed on Tuesday as officials assessed the heavy damage to the terminal building and some cracking on the air traffic control tower.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) grounded one international and 47 domestic flights to and from Clark on April 23. PAL canceled one international flight and 45 domestic flights scheduled for April 24 at Clark Airport.
Cebu Pacific canceled at least four flights from Clark (two domestic and two international) on Tuesday. Five international and eight domestic flights to and from Clark scheduled on April 24 were also cancelled.
State of calamity
The quake was centered on the town of Castillejos, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of Manila, local geologists said.
Seismologists put Monday’s tremor at 6.3 initially, but subsequently downgraded it to a 6.1 magnitude.
The Philippines is part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from quake-prone Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recommended a state of calamity be declared in Pampanga.
“The priority is to complete the rescue that is happening and then we have to take care of those who have been rescued, we have to attend to their medical needs. Those who have died, we have to attend to their funeral requirements. Those whose houses were destroyed and who had to flee the earthquake, they have to be fed. So, we are in the rescue and relief stage right now,” Arroyo told reporters on the sidelines of the Boao Forum in Taguig City on Tuesday before returning to her home province later in the day.
Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, chairman of the Senate Health Committee, said: “In the wake of the strong earthquake that hit Luzon, I urge both national and local government authorities to immediately conduct comprehensive inspections of all buildings and vital infrastructure in order to ensure that they are safe.”
WITH AFP; DEMPSEY REYES, ELADIO PERFECTO, PATRICK ROXAS, GLEE JALEA, BENJIE L. VERGARA, CATHERINE A. MODESTO AND FREDERICK SILVERIO
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