Quake's damage pegged at P179.15-M

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Thursday that the partial cost of damage from the magnitude-7.2 earthquake that struck Central Visayas on Tuesday has ballooned to P179.15 million.

During a briefing at the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) at Camp Aguinaldo, a DPWH representative said the amount could increase as their people continue the assessment of the quake's damage in the affected provinces.

The DPWH said that the quake's damage in Bohol has reached P161.5 million and P17.65 million was recorded in Cebu province.

The agency said a total of 31 bridges were either partially or totally damaged by the quake.

Of the number of bridges, 18 were impassable, three were only one-lane passable while 10 are already passable.

Two towns of Loon and Maribojoc in Bohol are isolated.

The DPWH has already deployed 20 structural engineers in Bohol to check structural integrity of structures that were able to withstand the magnitude-7.2 quake. The structures include hospitals, school buildings, municipal halls and public markets.

Aftershocks have been hitting Bohol province since the powerful quake struck on Tuesday morning.

The NDRRMC has reported that more than a thousand aftershocks have been recorded since Tuesday, and the strongest recorded so far was magnitude-5.5, which was felt strongest in Tagbilaran City at Intensity 6.