Number of those affected by North Luzon quake rises to over 200K —NDRRMC

The number of individuals hit by the magnitude 7 earthquake that jolted Northern Luzon on Wednesday morning has risen to over 200,000, the latest situation report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as of Saturday showed.

In its situation report as of 8 a.m., July 30, the NDRRMC reported that the number of affected persons from the recent tremor totaled 228,238 from 76,260 reported as of 8 a.m. of July 29.

The number of affected families also increased to 62,024 from 19,486 the previous day.

The earthquake displaced 1,910 families or 6,176 persons which are inside 46 evacuation centers.

Those displaced who are not in evacuation centers totaled 27,207 persons or 6,490 families.

The NDRRMC reported that the number of casualties are still six while four persons are missing

However, it reported on Friday that the the bodies of four reported missing in Abra had been found, bring the total reported fatalities to 10. 

Sought for clariffication, NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said that the agency is “still waiting for the official report from Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-CAR about the about the 4 retrievd cadavers.”

“But we acknowledge there are four incoming additional fatalities to be reported,” Timbal said.

The number of injured persons stood at 320, of which 300 are in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) while 18 are in Region I and two are in Region II.

Damaged houses reached 12,802, of which 12,645 are partially damaged while 157 are totally wrecked.

In the agriculture sector, production loss amounted to P6,979,001 in CAR while the National Irrigation Administration sustained P4,500,000 damage to irrigation systems.

Damage to infrastructure was estimated at P413,860,000. A total of eight roads are still not passable.

A state of calamity was declared in 27 cities and municipalities.

A total of 48 cities or municipalities experienced power interruption, but power supply in 46 cities and municipalities was already restored.

Likewise, four cities or municipalities experienced water supply interruption. Water supply in three cities or municipalities however were already restored.

Over 1,000 aftershocks have been recorded so far after the magnitude 7 earthquake in Abra, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said Friday.

PHIVOLCS chief Renato Solidum Jr. said aftershocks may still occur in the next several weeks. —KG, GMA News