Itbayat quake survivors camp out as aftershocks sow terror

Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ukkN3uBwDF0?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>MANILA -- Edgy locals in Itbayat, Batanes camped in makeshift tents in their town square as aftershocks jolted the country&#x27;s northernmost town on Monday, 2 days after a string of powerful earthquakes flattened decades-old houses to the ground and left at least 8 dead. </p><p>President Rodrigo Duterte, who conducted an <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/28/19/duterte-conducts-aerial-inspection-of-quake-hit-areas-in-batanes">aerial inspection</a> of the destruction on Sunday, refrained from landing in Itbayat to prevent the tents from being blown away, said Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco. </p><p>&quot;Halos hindi tumatayo ang mga tao pagdating ko... Tinitingnan lang ako. Hanggang ngayon, na-shock,&quot; she told radio DZMM. </p><p>&quot;Walang bumabalik sa bahay dahil hanggang ngayon malalakas pa rin ang aftershocks,&quot; she added. </p><p>(Almost all of the residents did not even stand up when I arrived. They were just looking at me. They are in shock until now. No one has returned to the houses because the aftershocks are still strong.) </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Itbayat Batanes still experiencing strong aftershocks, residents continue to stay in tents in open areas. <a href="https://t.co/2lYtaNDhQc">pic.twitter.com/2lYtaNDhQc</a></p>— Ron Gagalac (@rongagalac) <a href="https://twitter.com/rongagalac/status/1155375901573443584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>Three strong tremors with magnitudes ranging between 3.2 and 5.9 toppled Saturday the island&#x27;s treasured limestone houses and the belfry of a centuries-old parish, tore deep cracks in the road and forced the evacuation of a hospital.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">WATCH: Itbayat Batanes hospital set up a tent under the trees. District Hospital was damaged by the earthquake. The seriously ill and injured are transported to Basco for further medical care. | via <a href="https://twitter.com/rongagalac?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rongagalac</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BatanesQuake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BatanesQuake</a> <a href="https://t.co/jktve3AkgF">pic.twitter.com/jktve3AkgF</a></p>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/1155667984519532544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>At least 230 aftershocks have been recorded as of 4 a.m., according to seismology office Phivolcs. The tremors are getting weaker and striking with a bigger time gap, but residents should not discount the possibility of an aftershock stronger than magnitude 5.9, said Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum. </p><p>Authorities said some of the dead, including 2 babies under a year old, were crushed by the walls of their own homes.</p><p>&quot;Talagang kalunos-lunos po. Halos lahat ng bahay sa Itbayat ay sira po... Iyung iba po ay nag-crack sa gilid,&quot; said Cayco. </p><p>(It is heartwrenching. Almost all of the houses in Itbayat were destroyed. Others cracked.) </p><p>Residents need portable toilets, water resistant &quot;banigs&quot; or sleeping mats, and mosquito nets. Those whose homes were completely destroyed will receive P60,000 in government aid, while those with partially damaged houses will get P20,000, the governor said. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">WATCH: Local government distribute relief goods donated by businessmen from Basco, Batanes to some 3,000 residents affected by the earthquake. Food packs from DSWD is set to arrive within the day. | via <a href="https://twitter.com/rongagalac?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rongagalac</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BatanesQuake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BatanesQuake</a> <a href="https://t.co/VKrLxGIh8W">pic.twitter.com/VKrLxGIh8W</a></p>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/1155669196388257792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>Batanes is pounded every year by tropical cyclones and homes are built of stone to survive the annual onslaught.</p><p>&quot;Ang pinaghahandaan kasi namin is iyung bagyo. hindi namin pinaghandaan talaga iyung lindol,&quot; said Itbayat Mayor Raul de Sagon. </p><p>(We prepare for storms. We didn&#x27;t prepare for earthquakes like this.) </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="tl">Hindi pa rin bumabalik sa kanilang mga tahanan ang mga residente sa Itbayat, Batanes, habang patuloy pa ring nararamdaman ang mga aftershock doon matapos ang malakas na lindol noong Sabado | Ulat ni <a href="https://twitter.com/rongagalac?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rongagalac</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BatanesQuake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BatanesQuake</a> <a href="https://t.co/SsChulKfcv">pic.twitter.com/SsChulKfcv</a></p>— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) <a href="https://twitter.com/DZMMTeleRadyo/status/1155620243756109824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>Itbayat has been spared from moderately strong quakes in the last 50 years, noted Solidum. </p><p>Limestone, the island&#x27;s primary construction material, can be eroded by water over time, making structures unable to withstand even weak tremors, he told DZMM. </p><p>&quot;Siguro dapat tingnan paano pa mai-improve ang mga bahay at gusali d&#x27;yan kasi nakita naman natin, hindi pa iyan major earthquake, marami nang nasira,&quot; said Solidum. </p><p>(Perhaps we should look at how to improve the houses and buildings there because we&#x27;ve seen that this is not yet a major earthquake, but many were already destroyed.) </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/07/29/batanes.jpg"/><figcaption>A resident looks at damaged structures in Itbayat town, Batanes islands, following a string of earthquakes, Saturday. <em>Agnes Salengua Nico, AP</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The Philippines is part of the Pacific &quot;Ring of Fire&quot;, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from quake-prone Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.</p><p>The country&#x27;s most recent deadly quake occurred in April when at least 11 people were killed and a supermarket collapsed in a 6.1-magnitude tremor hit Pampanga. <strong>With reports from Agence France-Presse; Ron Gagalac, ABS-CBN News </strong></p>

<p>Edgy locals in Itbayat, Batanes camped in makeshift tents in their town square as aftershocks jolted the country's northernmost town on Monday, 2 days after a string of powerful earthquakes flattened decades-old houses to the ground and left at least 8 dead. </p>

Edgy locals in Itbayat, Batanes camped in makeshift tents in their town square as aftershocks jolted the country's northernmost town on Monday, 2 days after a string of powerful earthquakes flattened decades-old houses to the ground and left at least 8 dead.

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Itbayat quake survivors camp out as aftershocks sow terror

Itbayat quake survivors camp out as aftershocks sow terror

Jamaine Punzalan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 29, 2019 08:36 AM PHT

|

Updated Jul 29, 2019 12:16 PM PHT

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