Tacloban City (January 30) – Initial reports gathered by the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council Region 8 Operations Center shows that the earthquake which was felt at 6:50 in the morning of January 30, brought damages in several municipalities of the province of Leyte.
A 5.1 magnitude earthquake was felt in Region 8 with different intensities in affected municipalities.
Initial findings on the damage assessment being conducted by the MDCC Albuera, Leyte showed that several appliances like television sets, refrigerators and electric fans, were shifted or toppled down. The dividers in several houses were also toppled down, some kitchen utensils were broken, while concrete walls of several houses experienced minor cracks.
Two of the school buildings in Albuera were also damaged. One is a Marcos type building, the concrete wall of which partially collapsed; and the other is the Gabaldon Building, the wooden walls of which were shifted.
In the municipality of Buraen, Leyte, the walls of the school building and the Church at Barangay Tagadtaran, collapsed.
In Barangay Anonag, also in Buraen, the walls of several residential houses collapse and the walls of several houses cracked.
In the town of Pastrana, also in Leyte, damage by the earthquake was limited only to hairline or minor cracks of concrete walls and unstable small objects also toppled down.
Director Angel Gaviola of the Office of Civil Defense in Region 8 said that RDCC8 will continue to monitor the effects of the earthquake.
On the other hand, the Local Disaster Coordinating Councils continue to conduct damage assessment in their respective areas. (PIA 8)
