Magnitude 6.0 earthquake in Eastern Samar results in 'minor damages'

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Tuesday said that only minor damages were reported in Region 8 following the Magnitude 6.0 earthquake at Eastern Samar on Monday.

OCD Region 8 director Joel Erestain said that the damages reported were mostly masonry cracks that were not life-threatening.

“May mga dati nang cracks na medyo lumaki daw po ng konti, at yun lang po sa mga kabahayan at sa mga buildings na hindi naman life-threatening or matatawag po nating totally damaged po. Sa iba't iba mga barangay yan around the Eastern Samar, especially sa San Julian,” Erestain said in a public briefing.

(We have former cracks that have expanded a little, and those are in homes and buildings and were not life-threatening or what we can call totally damaged in different barangays around Eastern Samar, especially San Julian.)

He also said that no aftershocks have been felt since Monday.

Erestain, meanwhile, urged residents in Region 8 to remain vigilant.

“May mga LGUs na gusto rin makasiguro o mga building owners na mas gusto makasiguro na safe po ang kanilang buildings… Hindi naman po natin sila mapipigilan na mag-call pa po ng suspension ng kanilang work at mabuti po rin ngayon, summer vacation, wala rin klase ang karamihan ng ating mga paaralan,” he said.

(There are LGUs or building owners that want to ensure that their buildings are safe. We cannot stop them from calling work suspensions and it’s better than it is currently summer vacation, and most schools have no classes.)

He also shared that Disaster and Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) programs proved to be effective in Region 8 despite the area not often experiencing earthquakes.

“Marami po tayo natanggap na reported ng mga cracks, but those cracks din ang pwede patugunan ng ating local government units o barangays… We capacitated our own LGUs to help themselves and to help their own barangays and their communities,” he continued.

(We have a lot of reported cracks, but those cracks are also the ones that the local government or barangays can handle… We capacitated our own LGUs to help themselves and to help their own barangays and their communities.) —VAL, GMA News