The deaths reported following the deadly Cebu earthquake have climbed to 72, while more than 170,000 individuals were affected, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Thursday.
In its latest situational report as of 6:00 a.m., the NDRRMC said the death toll is concentrated in Bogo City and San Remigio, where 30 and 22 have died, respectively.
In Medellin, 12 deaths were reported; five in Tabogon, and one each in the municipalities of Sogod, Tabuelan, and Borbon.
Most of the deaths were caused by fallen debris, primarily in Bogo City, which is closest to the epicenter where the 6.9-magnitude tremor occurred, NDRRMC said. Other notable causes of death were linked to the collapse of the local complex in San Remigio.
The state disaster agency also reported 294 injured individuals, with no reports of missing persons as of yet.
“SAR (search and rescue) is still ongoing; for the missing, we don’t have the numbers for now,” Diego Agustin Mariano, Deputy Spokesperson of the Office of Civil Defense, said via Viber.
Meanwhile, more than 47,000 families, or exactly 170,959 individuals, were reported affected by the deadly quake that occurred on Tuesday night, the NDRRMC said.
Around 20,000 individuals are currently taking shelter outside evacuation centers, staying with relatives or friends.
As of 11:00 p.m., Thursday, more than 6,800 families had already received food and non-food relief from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), with total assistance amounting to P5.6 million, NDRRMC said.
In a separate report, the DSWD said that P2.4 billion worth of food and non-food items, along with nearly P200 million in quick response funds, are on standby for relief operations. — Edg Adrian A. Eva