(Eagle News) – The cost of damage by the recent series of quakes that shook Itbayat, Batanes is now tagged at more than P54.79 million even as strong aftershocks continued to rock the area, according to the latest update from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The town of Itbayat in Batanes has been declared under a state of calamity since July 29. Work and classes has also been suspended there.
As of 4 p.m. of July 31, a total of 300 aftershocks were recorded in Itbayat, 47 of them plotted while 21 were felt ranging from 2.2 to 5.9 magnitude, or intensity 2 to 7, the latest update from NDRRMC said.
Strong aftershocks also continue to be felt in Itbayat. On Thursday, August 1, the strongest tremor as of posting time was recorded at magnitude 4. This was at 3:40 a.m. It had a depth of 17 kilometers. Another tremor was felt at 2:29 p.m. and was recorded at magnitude 3.7.
The NDRRMC said that a total of 266 houses, two schools and two health facilities were damaged by the series of quake. At least 16 road section and slope protection in Itbayat were also reported to have sustained damages.
Overall, the amount of damage is at P54,791,380. Before this, the cost of damage was reported only at P47 million.
The schools that sustained damages are Mayan Elementary School and Itbayat National Agriculture High School. The health facilities that were damaged were Itbayat District Hospital and Itbayat Rural Health Unit.
The number of affected families also increased from the previous 911 families to 1,025 families consisting of 2,968 individuals.
Of this number, 742 families or 2,365 persons currently stay at the covered court of the municipal plaza in barangay San Rafael in Itbayat, Batanes.
The series of quakes have so far killed 9 people and injured 64 more individuals.
The strong tremors with a magnitude of 5.4 and 5.9 first struck the area early Saturday morning, July 27.
