A three-storey building collapses in Barangay Kananga, Leyte, on July 6, 2017 during the 6.5-magnitude earthquake, which shook the area.
(Contributed Photo)
ORMOC CITY, Leyte — Local officials are appealing for food and potable water especially for at least 20 barangays that were badly affected by the earthquake that shook Leyte and cut off power supply on Thursday.
The tremor, the strongest to hit the province in recent years, also killed two persons in Ormoc and in nearby Kananga town, and wounded more than 200 people.
“We need generator sets to pump the water wells,” appealed Mayor Richard Gomez, as residents could not tap the surface water since the rivers and springs had become muddy following the earthquake.
The affected were mostly mountain barangays that were accessible only through motorcycles due to rough and muddy roads.
The Energy Development Corp. (EDC), which operates a geothermal plant in Ormoc, lent three generator sets to Ormoc and another to Kananga.
The earthquake also damaged the runway at the Ormoc airport, two major highways, one footbridge and two bridges.
Landslides
Gomez said the earthquake triggered landslides in four barangays: Cabaon-an, Cabintan, Tongonan and Gaas.
Killed during the landslide was Rhissa Rosales, 19, a resident of Barangay Cabaon-an, Ormoc City, after getting hit by concrete debris during the landslide.
Her six-month-old baby survived.
At least 170 persons were wounded during the earthquake and landslides in Ormoc.
In Kananga, the lone fatality was identified as Jerry Novilla, who died when a three-storey building collapsed during the earthquake.
At least 37 persons were wounded while two school buildings in Barangays Lim-au and Rizal were damaged.
One of those who were injured was Charlie Minosa, 32, who hurt his feet after he landed on an iron sheet when he jumped from the second floor of their house in Barangay Poblacion.
Minosa, a tattoo artist from Caloocan City who was staying with his aunt, said he was in Kananga to take a vacation.
“But this happened to me. It’s okay. I survived anyway,” he added.
State of calamity
The Kananga Municipal Council has declared a state of calamity to allow the town to access funds to aid the victims.
Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla suspended all classes in all levels in the province to give way for the evaluation and inspection of all school buildings for any possible damages due to the earthquake.
Petilla said that heavy equipment from the Provincial Engineering Office were deployed to help in the clearing operations.
Ormoc, Kananga and the rest of Leyte, as well as Southern Leyte and Samar Island, were still without power as the quake caused the power transmission system to trip off, damaging power sources.
NGCP advisory
An advisory from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) on Friday morning, the tower along the 138-kV Ormoc-Togonan Line in Ormoc City, Leyte, was found leaning following aerial and ground inspections.
The NGCP has also mobilized six line gangs to temporarily restore the Ormoc-Togonan 138kV Line. Another line gang was sent to Kananga Switchyard, owned by the EDC, to assist in restoration and to assess possible ways of extending power from the Tabango Substation to Ormoc Substation, the statement said.
NGCP’s Cebu–Leyte submarine cable and its Tabango Substation in Leyte continue to transmit power to Leyte Electric Cooperative 5 that serves the towns of Tabango, San Isidro and Villaba.
“There is a complete loss of power in Bohol and Samar islands, and Southern Leyte. Due to supply deficiency caused by the outage of power plants located in Leyte, customers in Cebu, Negros, and Panay may also suffer occasional power interruptions,” said the NGCP advisory.
EDC statement
In a statement, EDC President Ricky Tantoco said they had shut down their plants to check on the damage that might have been caused by the earthquake.
During the earthquake, their plants had been providing 460 megawatts of electricity to the Visayas grid.
In addition to the plants, the statement said there was visible damage to their marshalling stations where the power from their plants was sent for transmission to the grid.
“We have mobilized our team of contractors who will be working 24/7, as may be permitted by safety considerations given that aftershocks are still being felt, to have the marshalling stations back in operation in 3 to 5 days,” he said.
Without electricity, water supply is a problem.
In Bohol, residents complained of not having water supply.
“We don’t have power. We don’t have water. Where will we turn to?” asked Anabelle Magoncia, 45, a resident of Ubujan District.
In its advisory, the Bohol Light advised consumers to conserve batteries and water.
“Power plants & NGCP Sub-station in Leyte are shutdown and still on assessment period. Power restoration for Bohol may take long. Please take precautions to prevent fire, conserve water and remove plugs from outlets,” it said.