(Eagle News) – More than 146,000 persons have been affected by the series of quakes that continue to rock Mindanao, according to the latest report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The NDRRMC said, in its Nov. 2, 2019 update, that the number of persons affected by the successive quakes to hit Mindanao had affected 146,745 persons or 29,349 families in 149 barangays.
This was significant increase from its previous report of 30,045 affected persons belonging to 6,009 families in 72 barangays in Regions 11 and 12 (particularly in Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, and Cotabato).
Of this number, 4,127 families or 20,635 persons are taking temporary shelter in 27 evacuation centers, while another 1,370 families or 6,850 persons are being served outside evacuation centers.
The NDRRMC said that there are at least 17 persons killed due to the quake, while 327 were injured in Regions 10, 11, 12 and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The most number of injured are in Region 12 at 297 persons. Of this number of injured, the most are in Cotabato at 253, followed by Cotabato at 40.
On Oct. 29, a magnitude 6.6 quake rocked Mindanao, with the epicenter located southeast of Tulunan, Cotabato. This was followed by hundreds of aftershocks. Two days later, on Thursday, Oct. 31, another quake with a magnitude of 6.5 hit Tulunan, Cotabato again, this time with the epicenter located on its northeast side.
On Friday morning, Nov. 1, another 5.5 magnitude quake hit waters off Sarangani, Davao Occidental, with the epicenter located 334 kilometers located southeast of Sarangani town. Later in the afternoon, another strong quake with a magnitude of 5.0 hit 18 kilometers southeast of Makilala, North Cotabato at 2:07 p.m.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology(PHIVOLCS) said that the tremors in Mindanao could continue for weeks.
