Death toll in Davao earthquake increases to 8
Published Dec 17, 2019 12:00 am
By Armando Fenequito Jr. and Martin Sadongdong
DAVAO CITY — The death toll following the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked Davao del Sur and adjacent provinces on Sunday has increased to eight.
Based on the report from the Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 as of 9:30 am on Tuesday, three deaths were recorded in the town of Padada, two in Matanao, one in Bansalan, one in Magsaysay, and one in Hagonoy.
An aerial photo made with a drone shows a crowd of villagers gathering in front of a damaged market in the quake-hit town of Padada, Philippines, 15 December 2019. (EFE/EPA/CERILO EBRANO / MANILA BULLETIN)
The bodies of three fatalities in Padada were retrieved from the collapsed South Green Marketing Building. They were identified as Elsa Ababon, Evangeline Artiaga, and Emily Benoy.
The two in Matanao were the six-year-old girl identified as Cherbel Chen Gador and a bed-ridden woman named Juliana Cagas.
In Magsaysay, the 63-year-old farmer Fernando Balitayo died due to heart attack while he was in the farm when the quake hit their town.
The 80-year-old Carlito Ibon, of Balutakay, Hagonoy also died due to heart attack.
Meanwhile, Elias Degamon, 60, died in New Clarin in the town of Bansalan.
The number of injured also rose to 149 and most of these were recorded from Davao del Sur.
The report also recorded 1,483 houses and 58 infrastructures were totally damaged in the province.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) disclosed on Tuesday that Benoy was an employee of the Southern Trade who was still able to send a text message to a friend on Monday that she was with six others still trapped under the rubble.
As of 6 a.m. Monday, NDRRMC Executive Director Ricardo Jalad said a total 556 aftershocks were already recorded -- 199 of which were plotted while 55 were felt.
'No signs of life'
The Davao del Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) confirmed that search and rescue operations in the collapsed Southern Trade grocery store, intially reported as public market, has already been terminated since there was no longer any sign of life.
In a televised press conference, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) regional director Fire Senior Superintendent Fred Trajeras said rescuers were now focused on retrieval operations since one more body was detected by their life and motion detector some 1.5 meters away from the entrance of the establishment.
"We were able to locate one object, might be an animal or human body na nadetect ng ating equipment (that was detected by our equipment). No signs of life, no heartbeat," he said in a press conference aired over CNN Philippines.
Trajeras was also hopeful that no more bodies will be found once they start drilling the walls of the store even if Biloy's text to a fellow store employee, Juvelyn Cabatbat, claimed there were at least six others trapped with her before she died.
"Kung mayroon pa 'di ba sana magkakatabi sila? Eh mag-isa lang siyang nadetect at nakuha kagabi (If there were others trapped, they should be found near each other right? But she was the only one detected and recovered )," he said.
Meanwhile, six persons have been rescued from the commercial store since rescue operations started on Sunday.
Southern Trade
Engineer Luke Cadayos, of the Padada Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the Southern Trade store was constructed in 1990 but has passed all of the building inspections conducted by officials.
It has withstood all three recent earthquakes that occured since October of this year.
"After the third earthquake, it was cleared for operations because only minor cracks were found in its walls," Cadayos said.
Cadayos cited liquefaction as the possible cause of the collapse of the building.
It takes place when loosely packed, water-logged sendiments at or near the ground surface lose their strength in response to strong ground shaking, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Relief efforts
Meanwhile, the Office of Civil Defense - Davao Region (OCD-11) facilitated the initial delivery of 2,650 liters of bottled drinking water and shelter materials for the affected families in Padada.
As of Tuesday morning, the NDRRMC said a total of 1,913 families or 9,565 individuals were displaced by the earthquake in 12 barangays in Davao Region.
The Davao Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (RDRRMO) has also conducted aerial survey in the affcted areas of Davao del Sur to assess the extent of the damage.
An aerial photo made with a drone shows a crowd of villagers gathering in front of a damaged market in the quake-hit town of Padada, Philippines, 15 December 2019. (EFE/EPA/CERILO EBRANO / MANILA BULLETIN)
The bodies of three fatalities in Padada were retrieved from the collapsed South Green Marketing Building. They were identified as Elsa Ababon, Evangeline Artiaga, and Emily Benoy.
The two in Matanao were the six-year-old girl identified as Cherbel Chen Gador and a bed-ridden woman named Juliana Cagas.
In Magsaysay, the 63-year-old farmer Fernando Balitayo died due to heart attack while he was in the farm when the quake hit their town.
The 80-year-old Carlito Ibon, of Balutakay, Hagonoy also died due to heart attack.
Meanwhile, Elias Degamon, 60, died in New Clarin in the town of Bansalan.
The number of injured also rose to 149 and most of these were recorded from Davao del Sur.
The report also recorded 1,483 houses and 58 infrastructures were totally damaged in the province.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) disclosed on Tuesday that Benoy was an employee of the Southern Trade who was still able to send a text message to a friend on Monday that she was with six others still trapped under the rubble.
As of 6 a.m. Monday, NDRRMC Executive Director Ricardo Jalad said a total 556 aftershocks were already recorded -- 199 of which were plotted while 55 were felt.
'No signs of life'
The Davao del Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) confirmed that search and rescue operations in the collapsed Southern Trade grocery store, intially reported as public market, has already been terminated since there was no longer any sign of life.
In a televised press conference, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) regional director Fire Senior Superintendent Fred Trajeras said rescuers were now focused on retrieval operations since one more body was detected by their life and motion detector some 1.5 meters away from the entrance of the establishment.
"We were able to locate one object, might be an animal or human body na nadetect ng ating equipment (that was detected by our equipment). No signs of life, no heartbeat," he said in a press conference aired over CNN Philippines.
Trajeras was also hopeful that no more bodies will be found once they start drilling the walls of the store even if Biloy's text to a fellow store employee, Juvelyn Cabatbat, claimed there were at least six others trapped with her before she died.
"Kung mayroon pa 'di ba sana magkakatabi sila? Eh mag-isa lang siyang nadetect at nakuha kagabi (If there were others trapped, they should be found near each other right? But she was the only one detected and recovered )," he said.
Meanwhile, six persons have been rescued from the commercial store since rescue operations started on Sunday.
Southern Trade
Engineer Luke Cadayos, of the Padada Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the Southern Trade store was constructed in 1990 but has passed all of the building inspections conducted by officials.
It has withstood all three recent earthquakes that occured since October of this year.
"After the third earthquake, it was cleared for operations because only minor cracks were found in its walls," Cadayos said.
Cadayos cited liquefaction as the possible cause of the collapse of the building.
It takes place when loosely packed, water-logged sendiments at or near the ground surface lose their strength in response to strong ground shaking, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Relief efforts
Meanwhile, the Office of Civil Defense - Davao Region (OCD-11) facilitated the initial delivery of 2,650 liters of bottled drinking water and shelter materials for the affected families in Padada.
As of Tuesday morning, the NDRRMC said a total of 1,913 families or 9,565 individuals were displaced by the earthquake in 12 barangays in Davao Region.
The Davao Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (RDRRMO) has also conducted aerial survey in the affcted areas of Davao del Sur to assess the extent of the damage.