Pooled Reports from MAYA PADILLO, ARMANDO FENEQUITO JR., ATHENA JILLIAN BRAVO and PNA

If it shook and swayed in the first one last October 16, Tuesday’s magnitude 6.6 quake was like a giant drilling machine grinding underground.

“The ground felt like it vibrated from a giant drilling machine,” one office worker gushed as she and the rest of her officemates were told to go home and leave the building at once.

Elsewhere, Napoleon Montano, a condo unit owner of DMCI, said there was so much damage from the condominium ground floor to third floor. “Thank God there is no damage on my unit but all our water pipes are busted.”

The ‘bigger one’ shook the whole of Mindanao at Magnitude 6.6 at 9:04 am Tuesday from an epicenter located outside the town of Tulunan, North Cotabato. Only two weeks ago, a similar strong quake, of magnitude 6.3 occurred in North Cotabato on October 16. It generated an Intensity 7 impact in the surrounding Kidapawan City, Kabacan and Makilala.

Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte immediately called off all classes in public and private schools, from kindergarten to post-graduate studies.

Mayor Sara noted that the earthquake may have caused structural and electrical damage to school buildings, making them unsafe for learners.
She also instructed all school owners, teachers, and other school personnel to immediately subject school structures to safety inspection with a qualified engineer.

Duterte said that if they find building defects that are dangerous and need repair, they should immediately condemn the area and not allow students to use the same.

She added that the suspension of classes tomorrow (Oct. 30), shall be on a case to case basis and shall depend on the individual schools’ announcement.

Still reeling from the October 16 magnitude 6.3 temblor and hundreds of aftershocks that followed, Davao City experienced the “biggest” in recent memory leaving some 35 structures damaged including a high-rise building and a shopping mall.

According to Davao City Public Safety and Security Command Center, a crack damaged the façade of the 10-storey Felcris Centrale, a mixed-use building with a call center and mall at the second floor while major cracks were also reported from the Gaisano Grand Mall in Toril.

As of noon, on Tuesday, there were no reported casualties in Davao City but elsewhere in separate locations, the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) has reported at least five persons dead and dozens others injured (see separate story on page 2).

Around Davao City, moderate cracks were reported in Erico National High School, a minor damage to Deco Arts in Ecoland, collapsed stall inside Toril Public Market, and some cracks reported in Bolton Bridge South-bound lane. 

There were also social media posts of the inclined building of Oroderm City Complex along C.M Recto Street but its president and CEO Neil Oropeza denied these reports saying it is the building’s featured architectural design.

Dr. Neil Oropeza, President and CEO of Oroderm City said in a statement: “Oroderm City has been inspected by our team. We have not suffered any structural defects nor has the building inclined to one side. The picture shown on viral photos is just the yellow aluminum cladding extending on our other building.”

According to PSSCC, structures reported to have minor cracks on walls initially were the following: Tacunan Elementary School, Tacunan National High School, Mintal Comperehensive High School, Mintal Elementary School, Calinan Elementary School, Calinan High School, Matina Pangi Elementary School, UM, Maa, Maa National High School, Palmeto Building, Barangay Maa, Aflect Elementary School, Barangay Panacan, Corquera Elementary School, Barangay, Wilfredo Aquino Elementary School, Wilfredo Aquino Barangay Hall, Tagurano Barangay Hall, Lots for Less, Matina Aplaya, SPED Bangkal, Matina Biao, Matina Biao High School, Gumalang Elementary School, Talomo Elementary School, Dona Carmen National High School, USEP Obrero, and Holy Cross of Mintal, Senior High Building 3rd Floor.

A massive rapid assessment conducted by CDRRMO in coordination with CEO Safety engineers to assess buildings noted with damages.
The Metrobank building in R. Magsaysay Avenue incurred broken windows. As soon as the earthquake happened, Metrobank personnel implemented the bank’s emergency preparedness plan.

Metrobank Davao immediately issued a statement to its clients that structural engineers will be conducting safety inspections at all branches within Davao City.

In Magsaysay, Davao del Sur, a 15-year-old student died after being hit with a concrete debris after hit with earthquake on Tuesday morning.
The victim was identified as Jessyryl Reil Farva, Grade 9 of Kasuga National High School. The information was bared by its School-in-charge Juland Domingo in an interview with local reporters.

Domingo said Farva along with other students came from  their break since it was their exam day when the quake hit  around 9:00 a.m.
He said the students were immediately evacuated in their ground but while going down the stairs a debris coming from the newly completed fell into Farva’s head. 

Farva was rushed to Viacrusis Medical Hospital in the town of Bansalan but was referred to Southern Philippines Medical Center due to severe wound sustained. 
But, upon reaching Barangu Binugao in Toril, Davao City, the victim was declared dead past 10:00 a.m. 

of noon, on Tuesday, there were no reported casualties in Davao City but elsewhere in separate locations, the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) has reported at least five persons dead and dozens others injured (see separate story on page 2).

Around Davao City, moderate cracks were reported in Erico National High School, a minor damage to Deco Arts in Ecoland, collapsed stall inside Toril Public Market, and some cracks reported in Bolton Bridge South-bound lane. 

There were also social media posts of the inclined building of Oroderm City Complex along C.M Recto Street but its president and CEO Neil Oropeza denied these reports saying it is the building’s featured architectural design.

Dr. Neil Oropeza, President and CEO of Oroderm City said in a statement: “Oroderm City has been inspected by our team. We have not suffered any structural defects nor has the building inclined to one side. The picture shown on viral photos is just the yellow aluminum cladding extending on our other building.”

According to PSSCC, structures reported to have minor cracks on walls initially were the following: Tacunan Elementary School, Tacunan National High School, Mintal Comperehensive High School, Mintal Elementary School, Calinan Elementary School, Calinan High School, Matina Pangi Elementary School, UM, Maa, Maa National High School, Palmeto Building, Barangay Maa, Aflect Elementary School, Barangay Panacan, Corquera Elementary School, Barangay, Wilfredo Aquino Elementary School, Wilfredo Aquino Barangay Hall, Tagurano Barangay Hall, Lots for Less, Matina Aplaya, SPED Bangkal, Matina Biao, Matina Biao High School, Gumalang Elementary School, Talomo Elementary School, Dona Carmen National High School, USEP Obrero, and Holy Cross of Mintal, Senior High Building 3rd Floor.

A massive rapid assessment conducted by CDRRMO in coordination with CEO Safety engineers to assess buildings noted with damages.
The Metrobank building in R. Magsaysay Avenue incurred broken windows. As soon as the earthquake happened, Metrobank personnel implemented the bank’s emergency preparedness plan.
Metrobank Davao immediately issued a statement to its clients that structural engineers will be conducting safety inspections at all branches within Davao City.

In Magsaysay, Davao del Sur, a 15-year-old student died after being hit with a concrete debris after hit with earthquake on Tuesday morning.

The victim was identified as Jessyryl Reil Farva, Grade 9 of Kasuga National High School. The information was bared by its School-in-charge Juland Domingo in an interview with local reporters.

Domingo said Farva along with other students came from  their break since it was their exam day when the quake hit  around 9:00 a.m.

He said the students were immediately evacuated in their ground but while going down the stairs a debris coming from the newly completed fell into Farva’s head. 

Farva was rushed to Viacrusis Medical Hospital in the town of Bansalan but was referred to Southern Philippines Medical Center due to severe wound sustained. 

But, upon reaching Barangu Binugao in Toril, Davao City, the victim was declared dead past 10:00 a.m.