Assistance from foreign countries poured in following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Northern Luzon last Wednesday.
The United States sent 3,000 shelter-grade tarps to support the Philippine government’s response efforts through USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance and United Nations’ International Organization for Migration. These tarps will provide much-needed shelter to the communities in Northern Luzon.
The Chinese Embassy, in coordination with the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (PCCCII), provided emergency supplies worth P10 million to earthquake-affected areas.
The Chinese Enterprises Philippines Association (CEPA) has prepared the first batch of P3.6 million “relief bags” to be distributed in disaster-affected areas.
Through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japanese government provided disaster relief supplies to those affected by the earthquake.
Japan will distribute generators and cord reels, adaptors, camping tents, sleeping pads, plastic sheets, and portable jerry cans/water containers for communities in need in collaboration with Philippine government agencies, including the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Members of the Cordillera RDRRMC Response Clusters, led by DSWD-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), are coordinating with these agencies for the proper distribution of these items.
Death toll
Meanwhile, the death toll from Wednesday’s earthquake in Northern Luzon has risen to 10, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Friday.
The bodies of four people reported missing in Abra, according to NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal, have been retrieved.
“We received a report that the four missing in Abra had been retrieved already. These four will be added to the fatalities,” Timbal said.
“We are just waiting for the official report containing the identities and other details of the deceased,” he added.
According to its latest situational report as of 6 a.m., five of those fatalities come from Cordillera Administrative Region, one from the municipalities of Bangued, Abra; Balbalan, Kalinga; and Bauko, Mountain Province, respectively and two came from Benguet, particularly from La Trinidad and Tuba, respectively, while the other one from Ilocos Region are still under validation.
A total of 79,263 persons were affected, with 1,622 families still in 26 evacuation centers while 1,512 persons are camped outside their homes.
According to Timbal, the damage on agriculture and irrigation was around P2.8 million and P4.5 million. He said that they prioritize providing food, water, and other needs to the affected individuals, where they have already so far released P400,000 worth of assistance..
There were also a total of 136 persons who were injured, 116 of those were confirmed, while 20 are under validation, while there are also four who are missing but also under validation.
NDRRMC also reported that there were two earthquake-induced landslides which came from the Ilocos Region, while there were three incidents of collapsed structure in CAR, and also three falling incidents in the same region.
There were also 33 road sections and five bridge sections that were affected by the earthquake, where 26 percent of those are not passable to all types of vehicles.