KIDAPAWAN CITY — Four persons were confirmed dead, thousands are now sleeping outside their homes while hundreds of structures were damaged during the 6.5 magnitude earthquake which hit the province of North Cotabato, in Southern Mindanao at 9:11 a.m Thursday, October 31.
The earthquake was tectonic and its epicenter was 27 km east of Tulunan.
The earthquake in Southern Mindanao affected over 16,400 people. It was the third powerful earthquake in two weeks, which resulted to the cracking of national roads and destroying buildings that withstood the previous tremors.
Eva’s Hotel, considered the tallest building in Kidapawan City collapsed. Mayor Joseph Evangelista has ordered the demolition and clearing of the debris.
A report received by Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) head Mercedita Foronda showed that Chairperson Cesar Bangot of Barangay Batasan, Makilala, North Cotabato was at the ground floor of the 2-story village hall when the earthquake struck.
Rosemarie Alcebar of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-12) said aside from Chairman Bangot, two others were killed when hit by concrete wall and fallen tree.
They were identified as Rommel Galicia, 20 of Barangay Luayon who was hit by falling hollow blocks and Prescilla Varona of Barangay San Isidro, also in Makilala who was hit by a toppled tree.
Alcebar said her office in North Cotabato is continuously monitoring the situation to determine the effects of tremor to civilians. Muslim woman Zalika Piang, a resident of Barangay Sambolawan in Midsayap, North Cotabato has died due to cardiac arrest in her room, according to her granddaughter Fatima Kanakan, director of the Office of Southern Cultural Communities-Bangsamoro Region.
Portions of the national highway linking North Cotabato and Davao del Sur, particularly in Barangay Batasan, sustained huge cracks but remained passable. The Kidapawan City government implemented a re-routing for all vehicle passing by the main streets of Kidapawan.
Mayor Joseph Evangelista of Kidapawan and chair of city Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) ordered the rerouting of motorists from Cotabato going to Davao and vice versa to ensure public safety.
He said re-routing was implemented because the 6-story hotel is just beside the highway and may eventually collapse. Motorists from Cotabato City are re-directed to Matalam town going to Mlang then to Makilala en route to Davao City.
Those coming from Davao City are advised to re-route from Makilala to Mlang then to Tulunan enroute to Cotabato City.
The North Cotabato DPWH office limited the tonnage of vehicles passing by Bulatukan bridge in Barnagay Bulatukan, Makilala, North Cotabato following the quake.
Number of affected families
- Kidapawan City : 3,000 and counting
- Tulunan town : 2,547
- Makilala : almost all barangays are affected and the assessment in on-going
PANIC BUYING
The situation has resulted to panic buying, supplies of water and tent materials are running out.
Rescue
The city of Tacurong, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the provincial government of Maguindanao have sent quick response team to Kidapawan and Makilala.
What they need:
Affected families need water, food, emergency and hygiene kits.
The local government units are receiving donations through their Social Services departments.-Edwin O. Fernandez and Randy Patches
