Death toll in latest Mindanao quakes rises to 17, Cotabato declares state of calamity
Credit to Author: THE MANILA TIMES| Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2019 12:37:39 +0000
THE death toll from the two recent earthquakes that jolted Mindanao this week is at 17, disaster authorities said, as Cotabato, one of the hard hit provinces, has declared a state of calamity.
In a situational report on Friday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said it also raised its alert status to blue so that its personnel could coordinate response efforts in the regions of Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos) and other areas affected by the earthquakes.
On Tuesday, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit parts of Mindanao and two days after a magnitude 6.5.
The earthquakes caused serious damage to several structures mostly in the province of Cotabato, where five persons died.I
In the same report released by the NDRRMC, the death toll from the earthquakes on Tuesday and Thursday has risen to 17.
The additional fatality from Thursday’s earthquake was identified as Lito Peles Mino, 59, from Sitio Musak, Barangay Sinapulan in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat. Authorities reported that the victim died from a rockslide. He was the sixth from Thursday’s earthquake.
The death toll from Tuesday’s tremor rose to 11, with the latest fatality identified as Romulo Naraga from Bansalan, Davao del Sur. The victim was reported to have died of cardiac arrest.
The NDRRMC, however, did not include the fatality from Digos City whom, local officials said, died of cardiac arrest during the earthquake on Tuesday.
The NDRRMC said the injured from the earthquake this Tuesday and Thursday rose to 403.
Of the total, 373 are from Soccsksargen, 14 from Northern Mindanao and 16 from Davao. Two persons remain missing in Magsaysay, Davao del Sur after a landslide on Tuesday.
3rd state of calamity
The provincial government of Cotabato has declared a state of calamity, its third, Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza said.
The other two declarations were for the dengue outbreak and the El Niño.
A declaration of a state of calamity means the province can tap emergency funds for further assistance to affected persons and repair of damaged infrastructure.
“There is no problem if we just declare [a state of emergency] again so this will be our third declaration already. The first quarter [was caused by] El Niño and third quarter by the dengue outbreak,” Mendoza said in an interview over dzMM radio.
She added that the declaration was also intended for proper accounting of the provincial government, citing that it still had to comply with the procurement process of the Commission on Audit (CoA). DEMPSEY REYES