Some Porac residents choose to sleep on streets after quake

Fear haunted residents of Porac, Pampanga the morning after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake was felt in Luzon on Monday.

According to a report by Ivan Mayrina on GMA News' Unang Balita on Tuesday, some residents chose to sleep on the streets as they were afraid to stay in their residences after the earthquake.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Ricardo Jalad said Porac was the worst hit town in Pampanga.

"Base sa report na nakuha natin, 'yan ang may pinakagrabe lang na epekto dito sa Pampanga, itong sa Porac na nagresulta ng casualty," Jalad said in a separate phone interview on Unang Balita.

"Mayro'n din sa Lubao at mayro'n din naman damage sa Clark International Airport pero ito ay simpleng pagbagsak lang ng ceiling atsaka 'yung mga lighting na 'di naman nagresulta ng casualty," Jalad added.

One of the most-damaged structures in Porac is the St. Catherine Church. Its bell tower had collapsed.

Loida Gutierrez, caretaker of the said church, recalled that she was watching television when she felt the earthquake on Monday afternoon.

Nanay Loida is thankful that no one among her companions in the church was hurt from the earthquake.

"Nasa kumbento po ako nanood ng TV. Nadinig ko na lang po na parang niyuyugyog ako... Tumayo po ako. Akala ko po may dumadaan na truck na malaki. 'Di ko akalain na lindol na pala 'yun. Lumabas po ako, nakita ko po 'yung kampanaryo bumagsak na...," Gutierrez said.

The local government of Pampanga is set to declare a state of calamity in the province.

The reports on the number of casualties are still being collated.

Five were reported killed and six have been rescued so far from the rubble after Chuzon Supermarket in Porac collapsed during the quake. 

It was reported earlier that some 40 people were trapped inside the collapsed supermarket.

Search and rescue operations continue at the site as of posting time. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KG, GMA News