Mindanao quake death toll rises to 78

MANILA, Philippines, June 19 ------ The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported 10 more deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities in last week’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Mindanao to 78.

According to Office of Civil Defense information officer Diego Mariano, the additional casualties include seven retrieved cadavers and three more previously reported as missing. The 10 new recorded deaths are all from Davao Occidental where there are now a total of 20 reported casualties. Sarangani still has the highest number of fatalities with 33, followed by South Cotabato with 24, and one reported death in Davao del Sur.

Mariano earlier explained that changes in figures being released by the NDRRMC are the result of continuing search, rescue and retrieval operations as well as validations and verifications of reported deaths, missing persons and injuries. The latest NDRRMC report added that at least 30 persons remain missing; including 15 in Sarangani, 13 in Davao Occidental and two in South Cotabato.

As of yesterday, the number of injured persons remain at 1,399 in the Davao Region, South-Central Mindanao (Soccsksargen), and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The number of affected population has risen to more than 357,000 families or more than 1.50 million individuals including some 5,000 families or over 21,900 persons staying in 47 different evacuation centers. With 14 cities and municipalities under state of calamity, the NDRRMC said estimated cost of damage to infrastructure stands at P1.29 billion.

The powerful earthquake reportedly damaged 774 structures excluding more than 74,000 houses, of which some 13,700 were reported as totally destroyed. Estimated cost of damage to agriculture is currently at P29.8 million in various areas of Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur alone. So far, displaced families and most-affected communities have received more than P184.9 million in food and non-food assistance.

Source: philstar.com