Magnitude 5.6 quake triggers 140 aftershocks in Kidapawan City

KIDAPAWAN CITY — At least 140 aftershocks were recorded here following the magnitude 5.6 earthquake that hit the town of Makilala, North Cotabato on Tuesday evening, a local volcanologist said.

Engineer Hermes Daquipa, Philvolcs field observer and officer in charge in Kidapawan City, said these aftershocks cannot be felt directly but were recorded in their seismograph since last night until morning today, Wednesday.

Daquipa also disclosed that of these aftershocks, 12 were felt in Kidapawan after the magnitude 5.6 tremor, which originated from the nearby town of Makilala.

"These are shakes that were felt by humans," Daquipa explained.

Meantime, Mayor Joseph A. Evangelista, suspended work at the city hall after the temblor around 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

Evangelista explained that they will use the work suspension to check the city hall for cracks, particularly along the hallway of the second floor.

"We want to know if the building is safe and our employees are safe in their respective office once works resume," Evangelista said.

Classes in all level in the city were also canceled.

Classes in the towns of Magpet, Makilala, President Roxas, Mlang, and Tulunan were also suspended in all levels due to the earthquake.

Patients confined at the Kidapawan Doctor's Hospital and Midway Hospital also scampered in different directions just after the magnitude 4.9 earthquake that hit the city around 8:58  a.m. today.

Most of the patients went out to their respective rooms and stayed at beside the highway for their safety.

The city government was quick to respond to the patients' needs and opened the city gymnasium as their temporary shelter.

In nearby Mlang town, at least 20 students of the Mlang National High School experienced vomiting because of tremor early Wednesday.

Some were brought to the school clinic while the rest are now confined at the Mlang District Hospital.

Cracks were also noted in several buildings of the Mlang National HIgh School and the Nuvabida High School, the town's disaster official said. — MDM, GMA News