14,000 evacuees seek succor in 6 Makilala evacuation centers

More than 14,000 evacuees had sought refuge in six evacuation centers in Makilala, Cotabato following the two earthquakes which struck Mindanao on Tuesday and Thursday, Ivan Mayrina reported Saturday on GMA News TV program.

The number of evacuees was also expected to increase given the forced evacuations in several barangays.

These evacuations were recommended by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), which had warned that tension cracks caused by the quakes could develop into collapses should a quake of magnitude 6 and stronger should strike.

Several barangays were thus declared "no build zones," and locals would no longer be allowed to return due to the danger.

These developments have strained the Makilala local government's disaster mitigation efforts, as the LGU now had to find a way to provide housing and livelihoods for their displaced constituents.

Nevertheless, the Makilala government emphasized that there were enough emergency rations for the all the evacuees. They were also streamlining the distribution of donations so that these could be given equitably.

The LGU did concede that they were having problems with home-based evacuees who could not be reached easily. — Joahna Lei Casilao/DVM, GMA News