VALENCIA CITY (MindaNews/8 Nov) – Thirty people were injured and a total of 21 houses were totally destroyed when a 5.2-magnitude earthquake jolted the city and the rest of Bukidnon Monday evening.
Sixty-one more houses were partially damaged while seven commercial buildings developed cracks because of the strong quake, according to Capt. Alejandro Larosa, executive director of the Valencia City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
The quake caused a power outage, too, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported that the quake, which started at 5:43 p.m., originated from a depth of one kilometer from the surface, 29 kilometers south of Malaybalay City.
The quake registered Intensity 3 in Malaybalay City and Quezon town of Bukidnon, Intensity 2 in Cagayan de Oro City and Intensity 1 in Camiguin, PHIVOLCS said.
The NDRRMC reported that 40 patients were evacuated from the Valencia Sanitarium and Hospital, but reentered the hospital later after city building officials conducted “rapid damage assessment” of the building and found it be “safe for reoccupancy.”
Power was reportedly partially restored by 7:55 p.m., the NDRRMC said.
At the Cabanuangan Elementary School in the Poblacion, classes were suspended the whole day today as cracks were found in classrooms. There were also minor cracks reported in other schools.
Fabio Concha, 73, lamented the damage in his seven fish ponds in Purok 18. Five of the fishponds dried up as cracks drained the water. He said that of the 5,000 or so mostly tilapia stock, he was able to save only 200. The quake damaged his house, too.
Arsenio Alagenio, head of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, said about 1,100 persons were directly affected by the quake. Of the 30 persons injured, 14 were reportedly confined in different hospitals here. (Walter I. Balane / MindaNews)
