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Ormoc residents fear aftershocks —Mayor Gomez


Residents of Ormoc City are fearing for their safety as aftershocks continued to rock Leyte following the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck the island on Thursday afternoon.

"Oo kasi 'yung mga aftershocks [na] 'yan—mga intensity 3, intensity 4—so nararamdaman pa rin ng mga tao until kaninang mga 5:15 a.m. Meron pa rin tayong nararamdaman na mga aftershocks dito sa Ormoc," Gomez said in an interview on GMA News' Unang Balita on Friday when asked if residents feared aftershocks.

Two persons died in Leyte following the earthquake—one fatality was reported in Kananga and the other died in a landslide in Ormoc.

Gomez assured that residents of Ormoc are safe for now and have been extended assistance.

"The people are relatively safe but we want them to be alert in case magkaroon ng malakas na aftershocks and then 'pag ganon nangyari, we always request them na lumabas sila [ng bahay]and look for open spaces," he said.

The quake also triggered a power outage in Ormoc and Tacloban City.

"'Yung kuryente since last night, wala pang kuryente dito sa Ormoc City dahil meron silang automatic shutoff system na 'pag malakas 'yung lindol nagshu-shutoff 'yan until such time na wala nang makitang problema. Then babalik 'yung kuryente," Gomez said.

"As of today, as of this moment, wala pa rin kaming kuryente. 'Yun din ang rason kung bakit mahina or 'yung ibang lugar dito sa Ormoc City walang tubig. We're hoping na mag-resume 'yung kuryente maya-maya," he added.

Operations at the Ormoc airport meanwhile remained suspended as some portions of the runway were damaged.

"I think matatagalan 'yung pagbalik ng operations dito sa Ormoc airport kasi merong nakita na crack sa runway and kailangan talagang ayusin muna 'yun before ibalik 'yung operations para hindi maging delikado," Gomez said. —Marlly Rome Bondoc/KG/KVD, GMA News

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