BAGUIO CITY – A total of 1,729 families have been brought to evacuation areas, and 51 government buildings were damaged in Abra, the hardest-hit of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake which struck northern Philippines on Wednesday morning, July 27.
In the report released by the Abra Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council at 4:26 p.m. on July 27, it also stated that 86 individuals in the municipality of Bangued were injured, and one student died.
The student was identified as Jonalyn Siganay, 23, a native of Langiden, Abra and living in Zone 5, Bangued, Abra, who was hit by a collapsed concrete fence.
There were also individuals who were injured in the municipalities of Boliney, Bucay, Lagangilang, Luba, Peñarrubia, Pidigan, Pilar, Sallapadan, San Juan, San Quintin, and Tubo.
Aside from the 51 government buildings that were damaged, the council also reported that 1,214 residential and seven were also damaged.
The temblor also caused 12 landslides spread in the towns Bucloc, Daguioman, Luba, Malibcong, Penarrubia, San Quintin, Tineg, and Tubo.
Twelve main roads were closed from the towns of Boliney, Bucloc, Daguioman, Lacub, Licuan-Baay, Luba, Malibcong, Manabo, San Isidro, San Quintin, Tineg and Tubo, while four bridges were damaged, three in Bangued and one of Lagangilang.
Due to the extent of the damage and the number of affected families in Abra, DSWD Secretary Raffy Tulfo immediately went to Bangued this morning after the earthquake to assess the situation and at the same time provide relief goods to the affected families.
Tulfo assured the DSWD will immediately provide assistance to the affected families with relief goods and financial assistance.
According to the DSWD-Cordillera report, a total of 24,247 family food packs worth P16,047,220.51 are available and will be delivered to different areas in the region.
There are also several non-food items available for dispatch like family tents, modular tents, sleeping kits, hygiene kits, sanitation kits, kitchen boxes, rolls of laminated sacks and malong.
Currently, local government units in the Cordillera region, along with the private sector, are using whatever resources they can to immediately help those affected by the earthquake.
Brigadier General Ronald Oliver Lee, regional director of the Police Regional Office-Cordillera, instructed the provincial headquarters for the deployment of the police to help the areas damaged by the earthquake.
The 182 Search and Rescue (SAR) trained personnel have also been deployed and a total of 1,978 personnel are on standby for the Reactionary Standby Support Forces.
Elsewhere, four people have been reported dead in the earthquake, the last being Resty Emperador Tavas, 32, who was buried alive after the side of the mountain collapsed in Sitio Bayacsan, Barangay Taloy Sur, Tuba, Benguet.
The three earlier first reported dead were construction workers.
A laborer, Aron Cul-iteng, 25, was reported hit by falling debris after the building they were working on collapsed near Central Buyagan, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Another laborer, Jefferson Basar, 24, died while doing rock netting on the high side of the mountain when he was hit by a rolling chunk of rock and fell on the road in Sitio Bulalayao, Pantikian, Balbalan, Kalinga.
The person who died in Bangued, Abra was a student, Jonalyn Siganay, 23, a native of Langiden, Abra and living in Zone 5, Bangued, Abra, after a collapsed concrete fence struck her.