Cebu Earthquake death toll climbs to 72 as relief efforts intensify in Visayas

October 3 ------ THE death toll from a powerful earthquake in the Central Visayas (Region 7) rose to 72 on Thursday, rescuers said, as officials turned their efforts to the hundreds injured and thousands left homeless.

Firefighters and rescuers pulled a woman and her child from the rubble of a collapsed hotel overnight Wednesday in the city of Bogo, near the epicenter of the 6.9-magnitude quake that struck on Tuesday. The body of another woman was also retrieved from the site earlier in the day.

The government said 294 people were injured and around 20,000 had fled their homes. Nearly 600 houses were wrecked across the north of Cebu island, and many are sleeping on the streets as hundreds of aftershocks shake the area. Cebu provincial Gov. Pamela Baricuatro appealed for help on Thursday, saying thousands needed safe drinking water, food, clothes, and temporary housing, as well as volunteers to sort and distribute aid. “Many homes were destroyed, and many families are in need of help to recover. They need our help, prayers, and support,” she said on Facebook.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew to Cebu with senior aides on Thursday to inspect the damage and coordinate relief efforts. During his visit to Bogo City, he announced the release of more than P200 million in financial aid for Cebu province and its local government units to help in their rehabilitation. Marcos said P50 million of the donation of the Office of the President (OP) would go to the Cebu provincial government, while another P20 million would be provided for Bogo City. The OP would also provide assistance to nine Cebu towns: San Remigio and Sogod, which would receive P20 million each; and the municipalities of Bantayan, Daanbantayan, Madridejos, Medellin, Santa Fe, Tabogon, and Tabuelan, which would get P10 million each.

In Bogo City, Marcos inspected collapsed housing units at SM Cares Village in Barangay Polambato and spoke with affected families. Built in 2014 by SM Supermalls, the housing project served as a resettlement site for survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda. Marcos also visited the Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish Church of St. Vicente Ferrer in Barangay Bungtod, which sustained major damage, and the City of Bogo Science and Arts Academy in Barangay Cogon, a public school severely affected by the quake. At the Cebu Provincial Hospital in Barangay Taytayan, the President assured patients of immediate assistance.

Displaced residents

A tiny village chapel is serving as a post-quake home for 18-year-old Bogo resident Diane Madrigal and 14 of her neighbors after their houses were destroyed. Their clothes and food are scattered across the chapel’s pews. “The entire wall [of my house] fell, so I really don’t know how and when we can go back again,” Madrigal said. “I am still scared of the aftershocks up to now; it feels like we have to run again,” she added.

Mother-of-four Lucille Ipil, 43, added her water container to a 10-meter line of them along a road in Bogo, where residents desperately waited for a fire truck scheduled to bring them water. “The earthquake really ruined our lives. Water is important for everyone. We cannot eat, drink or bathe properly,” she said. “We really want to go back to our old life before the quake, but we don’t know when that will happen... Rebuilding takes a long time.”

Many areas remain without electricity, and dozens of patients were sheltering in tents outside the damaged Cebu provincial hospital in Bogo. “I’d rather stay here under this tent. At least I can be treated,” 22-year-old Kyle Malait said, as she waited for her dislocated arm to be treated. More than 110,000 people in 42 communities affected by the quake will need assistance to rebuild their homes and restore their livelihoods, according to the regional civil defense office. Search and rescue efforts appeared to be winding down in Bogo early Thursday, as rescuers milled around awaiting instructions. “As of now, all those who were reported missing have already been retrieved,” Cebu fire bureau official Liewellyn Lee Quino said. Rescuers were sent to recheck a collapsed hotel hours after three bodies were retrieved. “The final check is important so that we can assure the community here that no one is forgotten inside these establishments, and that they can choose to destroy this place completely [for redevelopment],” Quino said.

Source: manilatimes.net