Magnitude 7 earthquake leaves P33.8-B in damage to infrastructure

HIGH IMPACT The 7-magnitude earthquake that struck Abra on Wednesday damaged more than 50 buildings and over 1,000 houses, like this one in the provincial capital of Bangued, and left at least four people dead. The tremor cracked the façade of the Vigan Cathedral (upper left) and more than half a dozen other centuries-old heritage sites in the northern Philippines. —PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARK ANICAS AND ALEX BERNAL; AFP

BAGUIO CITY—The 7-magnitude earthquake that jolted Luzon on Wednesday left at least P33.8-billion worth of damage to infrastructure in the Cordillera and Ilocos regions, an official said Thursday.

Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator for operations of the Office of the Civil Defense, said more than 4,000 families or 20,000 individuals were also affected by the powerful earthquake.

During a situation briefing in Abra with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Alejandro also said there were five confirmed fatalities and 131 injuries.

In the Ilocos region, 61 schools and three bridges were damaged, Alejandro said.

At least 349 houses in the Cordillera and Ilocos were also damaged by the quake. Inquirer One Luzon Bureau INQ

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