Aftershocks still rock Visayas

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has recorded a total of 1,514 aftershocks following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit the Visayas last week, killing at least 41 people.

Phivolcs said the latest aftershock was measured at magnitude 2.8 and occurred at 12:58 a.m. yesterday.

It was felt at intensity 2 in Albuera, Leyte and Ormoc City.

As of 8 a.m. yesterday, the National Disaster

Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the death toll remained at 41, with 67 still missing.

The quake affected 34,507 families or 185,496 people in 135 villages in eight towns and two cities.

Phivolcs earlier warned that aftershocks could last for weeks because the earthquake was strong.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) continued to warn the public, particularly in areas hit by the magnitude 6.9 quake, against possible flashfloods and landslides.

PAGASA said the low pressure area hovering over Bukidnon and a tail-end of a cold front will continue to bring cloudy skies with scattered to widespread rains and thunderstorms in Southern Luzon, Visayas and Northern and Eastern Mindanao, which may trigger flashfloods and landslides.

As of 8 a.m. yesterday, the low pressure area was spotted in the vicinity of Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.

PAGASA said the rest of Luzon, including Metro Manila, will have mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and isolated thunderstorms. 

PAGASA also advised residents in Luzon and the Visayas to be wary of big waves. It said the coastal waters throughout the archipelago will be moderate to rough.  

Meanwhile, NDRRMC executive director Benito Ramos said local officials in Negros Oriental would declare landslide-hit areas in the province as “memorial sites” if retrieval teams could no longer unearth the bodies of the victims.

“The landslide sites will serve as cemeteries if it is already too difficult to retrieve the bodies,” Ramos told radio dzBB.

Funeral rites would be held for the victims if the places where the landslides occurred - Barangay Planas in Guihulngan City and Barangay Solongon in La Libertad - were declared memorial sites.

Ramos however said they would continue to conduct retrieval operations “as long as it takes.”

“We do not want to set a timetable for the declaration of memorial sites. The families of the missing persons want us to continue our retrieval operations,” he told The STAR in a phone interview.

He said they are not setting deadlines for the conduct of retrieval operations for now.

Rains hamper retrieval operations anew

Ramos said retrieval operations in landslide-hit areas were suspended yesterday due to heavy rains caused by a low-pressure area. He is currently in Negros Oriental supervising the government’s relief and retrieval efforts.

“The retrieval operations were temporarily suspended. We are experiencing heavy rains. Aftershocks are also possible. If we continue, it would be too risky for our retrieval teams,” he said.

On Thursday, retrieval teams were also forced to defer their operations due to continuous rains and aftershocks. 

Ramos said the rains forced around 200 people from Barangay Tinayunan in Guihulngan to evacuate from their homes.

The residents were evacuated amid expectations that a creek located between two mountains would overflow.

“If the creek overflows, a flashflood would ensue,” he said.

He said the NDRRMC has been placed on red alert to mitigate the impact of the low pressure area.

Ramos said local and international donors are continuously coordinating with the NDRRMC and the local governments to determine what assistance could be given to the victims. – Alexis Romero