Mindanao quake. Photo courtesy of Jurel Bayang/PNA.
More than 346,000 people had been affected by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Thursday.
In its 8 a.m. report, the NDRRMC said the quake affected 346,449 individuals, or 75,324 families, across the Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Of the affected residents, 16,349 people, or 3,515 families, were staying in evacuation centers, while 29,260 others, or 7,279 families, sought temporary shelter elsewhere.
The NDRRMC reported 47 deaths, including 35 in Soccsksargen and 12 in the Davao Region, while 688 people were injured and 33 others remained missing.
The Bureau of Fire Protection, however, had placed the reported death toll at 53 as of Wednesday.
A state of calamity was declared in Davao Occidental, Malapatan and Glan in Sarangani, and General Santos City in South Cotabato because of the quake’s impact.
The earthquake triggered 37 landslides, seven tension cracks, and one tsunami alert, while 45 road sections and eight bridges were affected. Authorities said 37 roads and six bridges had become passable again.
The NDRRMC said 238 infrastructure facilities were damaged, power interruptions hit 48 areas, classes were suspended in 210 areas, and work was called off in 113 areas. Assistance worth Php 26,330,709 had been provided to affected communities.