GLAN, Sarangani (MindaNews / 19 November) — At the Glan Padido Central Elementary School where a multipurpose hall collapsed, principal Genevieve Rama said it was luck that they dismissed the pupils early that afternoon of Friday, November 17, to give way to a teachers’ meeting.
“The multipurpose hall is a favorite spot of pupils, it is where they gather,” Rama said.
Rama said she saw for herself how the multipurpose hall was flattened by the Magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck at 4:14 p.m., some 28 kms southwest of Srangani Island in Sarangani, Davao Occidental.
The death toll has risen to eight, four of them from this town, as disclosed to MindaNews by town mayor Victor James Yap on Saturday. Three deaths were reported in General Santos City while a church minister perished in Malapatan town, according to police reports.
Glan town took the brunt of the temblor, the mayor said. “Had it been a bit stronger, my town would have been flattened,” he added.
The town hall sustained cracks and broken walls, which the mayor said can still be repaired. He said they will let engineers look into the building which has been rendered off-limits to the public.
Yap, however, could not give figures as to the extent of the damage except to say that it is overwhelming.
He corrected earlier local media reports attributed to him that a landslide buried an entire community in barangay Mudan. “Usa ka balay lang ang natabunan, inahan ug anak naa sa sulod. Patay na siguro karon kay 24 hours na man” (Only one house was buried, with a mother and child. They are likely dead now, after 24 hours), he said.
The mayor said he received reports that a 30-meter extended portion of the municipal wharf is gone. “I will still have to check on this,” said the mayor who was on a beach officiating a wedding when the earthquake struck.
The temblor damaged houses, government offices, bridges and public infrastructure, according to the initial assessment of authorities.
Barangay chair Jean Salapa of Glan Padido on Saturday afternoon said they were still in the process of making a list of partially and totally damaged houses and families that were affected.
In General Santos City, authorities reported more than a dozen buildings that sustained damages, including that of three government offices. The City Hall also bore damages. (Rommel Rebollido / MindaNews)
