The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said yesterday that the twin earthquakes that rocked Batanes last July 27 have so far affected 911 families or 2,963 persons residing in five barangays in Itbayat, Batanes.
These affected individuals are now staying at the Itbayat Public Market, NDRRMC Executive Director Ricardo Jalad.
A total of 15 houses, two schools, and two health facilities were damaged by the earthquakes.
Eight persons were killed, 63 were injured, and one is missing from the earthquake.
Jalad said all injured persons were taken to the Itbayat District Hospital.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has deployed two search and rescue and one medical team via a C-295 medium transport aircraft to Itbayat.
Search and rescue teams of the 525th Engineering Combat Battalion are on standby for possible deployment.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development yesterday assured the local government unit of Itbayat of immediate assistance to help address the needs of families and individuals affected by the earthquakes.
In its field office in Cagayan Valley, the DSWD has 200 family food packs ready for immediate distribution to the affected families. These are on top of the food supplies equating to 3,600 family food packs that are in Basco which can be transported to Itbayat.
The field office also has P700,000 in protective services fund for requirements other than relief supplies. Likewise, the field office has available stockpiles of 29,132 family food packs and food and non-foods items worth P349,602 that can be used as additional resources.
Financial assistance to bereaved families is also being facilitated by the DSWD team in Batanes.
The DSWD field office will also deploy six social workers to Batanes to provide psychosocial intervention to the affected families.
The Department of Public Works and Highways said initial estimate of damage caused by the earthquakes to national roads, schoolbuildings, other public buildings, churches, and old stone houses in Batanes is P79.5 million.
Wilzon Valdez, regional information officer of the DPWH Region 2, said that 10 DPWH engineers have been deployed to Batanes to conduct rapid damage assessment. (PNA, Ellalyn Ruiz, and Liezle Inigo)
