Death toll from magnitude 7 earthquake rises to five

[ASEAN NOW News]

RESCUE. A fire officer in Benguet pulls a victim out of a rubble in Buyagan, La Trinidad, Benguet after a magnitude 7 earthquake hit several provinces in Northern Luzon on Wednesday (July 27, 2022). The victim eventually died while undergoing treatment at the Benguet General Hospital. (PNA photo courtesy of PNP)

 

MANILA – At least five people were reported dead and another 64 injured as a result of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Abra and other parts of Luzon on Wednesday, according to the 6 p.m. update of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD).

 

In a briefing conducted by OCD Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, two of the fatalities were from La Trinidad and Tuba, Benguet; one from Balbalan, Kalinga; one in Bangued, Abra; and one in Gattaran, Cagayan.

 

Meanwhile, the OCD said 64 were reported injured and these can be broken down into 57 from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and another seven from Region 1 (Ilocos).

 

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council spokesperson Mark Cashean Timbal told the Philippine News Agency that these figures “are still subject for verification.”

 

Timbal said these can be adjusted once verified reports come in from the field.

 

The damaged infrastructures in Ilocos Sur were reported as the following:

-- Municipal Building and District Hospital in Cervantes
-- Gabriela Silang Hospital
-- Vigan Cathedral
-- Bantay Bell Tower

 

Meanwhile, 61 schools were reported damaged in Regions 1 (Ilocos), 2 (Cagayan Valley), 3 (Central Luzon), and the CAR.

 

The OCD also reported three damaged bridges -- Anduyan Bridge in Tubao, La Union; Calungbuyan Bridge in Santa town, Ilocos Sur; and Biweng Bridge in the CAR.

 

Alejandro said they are still waiting for reports to make an estimate on the damage sustained by agriculture and other damaged assets.

 

He added that they are also waiting for field reports to determine the number of the affected population.

 

Houses damaged by the earthquake were placed at 428, broken down into 423 in the CAR and five in Ilocos Region. (PNA)

 

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