DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/02 June) – The magnitude 5.7 earthquake late Saturday night injured five persons, four of them children and partly destroyed 30 concrete houses and other infrastructure in Carmen, North Cotabato by the magnitude 5.7 earthquake late Saturday night, North Gov. Emmylou Talino-Mendoza said.
Mendoza, who inspected the affected barangays early Sunday morning, told MindaNews that aside from the houses in barangays Kibudtungan and Kimadzil, where some walls were found to have collapsed, solar driers, water systems, school buildings and barangay multi-purpose buildings suffered some cracks.
Injured residents had been given medical attention, she said.
Boulders blocked a portion of the Carmen-Bukidnon national highway in Kimadzil due to landslid but the road is passable.
Three to four inch cracks were also noted at the approach of the bridge in Kimadzil, along the highway, she added.
“I was still awake when we felt the earthquake. I ran out of our house,” recalled the governor, who is a native of Carmen town.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded that the epicenter of the earthquake was five kilometers east of Carmen.
The governor said both barangays are five kilometers away from the town proper.
But the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported that the epicenter was 12 kilometers northeast of Carmen.
Phivolcs recorded Intensity 4 in Matalam, North Cotabato; Intensity 3 in Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province, Marawi City in Lanao del Sur, Kidapawan City in North Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental and Cotabato City adjoining Maguindanao.
Intensity 2 was recorded in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Polanco in Zamboanga del Norte and Davao City.
As 1:11p.m, Phivolcs’ earthquake bulletin showed nine seismic activities since 10:10p.m. of Saturday until 12:14 p.m. Sunday.
On Saturday night, first seismic activity recorded at magnitude 5.7 around 10:10 p.m., 4.7 sy 10:20 p.m.; and 4.3 at 10:40 and 11:45 p.m.
On Sunday, magnitude 4.3 earthquake was recorded at 7:58 a.m.; 4.9 at 9:40a.m.; 3.6 at 10:45a.m.; 3.4 at10:59a.m.; and 3.5 at 12:14 noon.
Capt. Antonio Bulao, spokesperson of the Army’s 602nd Brigade based in Carmen, told MindaNews in a text message that the highway to Bukidnon is passable despite the landslide in Kamadzil.
Bulao said Kimadzil is a landslide-prone area even without the quake.
Government troops were dispatched into the area to inspect the bridge and the landslide site on Saturday night, he said. (Keith Bacongco / MindaNews)