5.8 quake damages mall, destroys house in Agusan del Sur

The damaged ceilings at the second floor of Gaisano Grand mall in San Francisco town in Agusan del Sur on Tuesday. PHOTO BY (NETIZEN) BOY TOMOY

SAN FRANCISCO,  Agusan del Sur—A mall ceiling here collapsed while part of a house in Talacogon town crumbled on Tuesday (July 28) following the dawn 5.8 magnitude quake with an epicenter 21 kilometers northeast of Bayabas town, Surigao del Sur, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

The municipal disaster risk reduction center said the ceiling of Gaisano Grand Mall here collapsed during the quake which registered at Intensity 6 in the two Agusan del Sur towns, according to the Phivolcs earthquake bulletin.

Mall goers and workers were barred from entering the shopping mall on Tuesday although some workers managed to get inside and take pictures of the damage before the mall’s supposed opening time at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

Photos posted on social media showed the mall’s damaged ceiling on the building’s second floor, fallen mannequins and food items scattered on the floor after these fell from grocery racks during the shaking that lasted five to 10 minutes, disaster officials said.

Part of the big house of Elmer Batisting in Talacogon town in Agusan del Sur. PHOTO BY SORONIO LIBRIAS

A worker said the mall would be closed until a company engineer from Davao City has checked its safety.

In Talacogon town, part of the house of Elmer Batisting in San Agustin village crumbled at the height of the tremor. Families who were living in the house were able to run to safety outside.

Batisting said 13 people lived in the boarding house built in 1976.

In Surigao del Sur, Col. James Goforth, provincial police director, said no major damage had been reported on buildings and shelters of Bayabas town, the epicenter of the quake.

Bayabas town Mayor Maria Clarita Gracia-Limbaro said officials were still awaiting the results of inspections made by the town’s engineering office. / TSB