DAVAO CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development–11 reported on Sunday, Oct. 12, that they have extended P27.3 million to families affected by the twin earthquakes that hit Manay town in Davao Oriental province and felt across Mindanao.

In a Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-Davao press briefing, DSWD-11 Assistant Director for Operations Merlinda Paragamac said the assistance covered earthquake-hit areas in Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro, and Davao del Norte provinces.

The magnitude-7.4 and 6.8-offshore earthquakes that hit Davao Oriental on Friday, Oct. 10, affected 10 municipalities and 93 barangays, a report presented by DSWD-11 said.

The report said the twin tremors impacted 66,657 families or 282,323 individuals, displacing 1,345 families (6,120 individuals) now taking shelter in evacuation centers. The tremors destroyed 278 houses and partially damaged 912 others.

The Manay District Hospital, situated near the quake epicenter, sustained structural damage, prompting the Davao Oriental provincial government to assume management and ensure continuous medical services for residents.

Paragamac said all other provincial and regional hospitals in the Davao region remain fully operational despite the impact of the quake.

The agency has provided P24.88 million worth of assistance to families affected in Davao Oriental – 23,670 family food packs, 2,344 non-food items, and 3,606 ready-to-eat food packs.

In Davao de Oro, Paragamac said the DSWD-11 released P1.17 million in assistance for families in four affected municipalities and 28 barangays – 699 families or 3,070 individuals –

with 224 families currently in evacuation centers.

The agency reported that the assistance included 2,000 family food packs distributed to affected communities. The tremors damaged nine houses and partially damaged 352 structures.

DSWD-11 also assisted Davao del Norte, which recorded 238 affected families or 231 individuals across 26 barangays in four municipalities, with 60 families housed in evacuation centers. The tremors damaged six houses and partially damaged 69.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council confirmed that eight fatalities have been reported in the region following the tremors, with three miners in Pantukan, Davao de Oro, killed after being struck by falling rocks at a mining site.

At least 395 people were injured – 282 in the Davao region and 113 in Caraga – but there were no reported missing persons, the NDRRMC reported.

The NDRRMC said the quakes affected 125,283 families or 491,258 individuals across 303 barangays in Davao and Caraga regions. One thousand nine hundred thirty-nine families, or 8,440 individuals, live in 14 evacuation centers.

Infrastructure damage have reached over P100.2 million, with P87.9 million recorded in Davao region and P12.7 million in Caraga. The tremors damaged 1,857 houses, 298 of which were destroyed.

Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, Education Secretary Sonny Angara, and Mindanao Development Authority Chairman Leo Magno inspected affected areas on Saturday, Oct. 11.

“Manay District Hospital is unsafe for use due to severe structural cracks,” Dizon said, adding that the DPWH will establish makeshift medical tents and tent cities in Manay and Tarragona to accommodate displaced residents.

The Department of Education noted over P2.1 billion in damage to school infrastructure across nine regions. The quakes affected 89,691 students and 8,324 teachers, with 137 students and 49 education personnel sustaining injuries.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded 1,111 aftershocks, 511

plotted and 14 felt. These ranged in magnitude from 1.2 to 5.8.

Authorities continue to monitor the situation as relief efforts and damage assessments proceed. The DSWD emphasized that assistance will remain ongoing until affected families can safely return home and communities begin full recovery.