22 dead, 71 missing, according to official tally

NEGROS ORIENTAL, Philippines - Rescue workers searched on Tuesday for residents of a mountainside community in Negros Oriental who are feared dead after a landslide triggered by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake engulfed their homes.

Soil and rocks buried homes in a neighborhood in Guihulngan City near the quake's epicenter, which had also seen heavy rain in the days before the earthquake, disaster officials said.

"It looks like there is no more hope of finding the 29 missing alive," said Benito Ramos, head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

The state disaster agency said it was checking reports that 40 people were missing in another landslide in La Libertad town, also in Negros Oriental province.

Ramos said based on their records, the quake has killed 22 people in Guihulngan, Jimalalud, Tayasan, Majuyod, and Bindoy. At least 52 were hurt while 71 are missing, he added.

The toll now tallies with figures from the Army, which previously reported the number of fatalities at 48.

"Previous reports on the number of dead which is higher in number were based on unverified reports from other sources," said Capt. Anacito Naz, civil military operations officer of the Army's 302nd Brigade, in a text message to ANC.

Aftershocks

Aftershocks have rattled the region, with more than 1,000 of them in the 36 hours after the quake struck, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. Officials warned residents to have their houses checked if they had been damaged.

"They should not panic and make sure they secure all items that may fall. Structures with minor damage should be first inspected if safe to use," government seismologist Winchell Sevilla said in a radio interview.

Huge cracks have appeared on main roads and concrete structures in Ayungon town adjacent to Tayasan, where mausoleums in cemeteries had also caved in.

Local officials in Guihulngan town said many residents refuse to go home for fear of more aftershocks and a tsunami.

Town Mayor Ernesto Reyes himself experienced a strong aftershock while being interviewed over ANC on Tuesday.

Rescuers move dead body from landslide. Photo by Erik De Castro, Reuters

"Lumilindol dito ngayon. 'Di pa tapos 'yung lindol. Nag-crack 'yung tinatayuan ko," he said during his interview that was aired live.

"Sa tennis court, ang nangyayari lumilindol, lahat takbuhan. Tennis court nabibiyak na," he added.

"Mga tao nag-panic. Marami kaming tao na namatay, I have 29 dead," Reyes said. "Sa Planas, 29 natabunan ng lupa at 'di pa na-rescue, may 50 rescue teams na tutulong."

He said the aftershocks are hampering efforts to rescue possible survivors of the quake and find the remains of those who perished.

In another part of Guihulngan, the body of a Chinese businessman was recovered from a destroyed building.
 
An aftershock struck while it was being carried to a vehicle.

The aftershock measured magnitude 6.2.

Outside the Guihulngan Hospital, patients spent the night on the streets for fear of staying indoors.

Darkness has covered the town because of a power outage. Local officials are unsure when electricity can be restored.

State of shock

Several residents of Guihulngan are still in a state of shock, according to Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo.

Degamo said the residents expressed fear over the tsunami threat following the strong quake.

“Nakikita natin ang tao doon na medyo nasa state of shock pa sila. Sinabihan natin sila na huwag mag-worry. Kasi ang worry nila ay ‘yung tsunami, kaya sinabihan natin sila na ‘yung alert level 2 ay na-lift na. ‘Yung iba umuwi na sa kanilang mga bahay, ‘yung iba na nawalan ng bahay nasa evacuation centers pa,” Degamo told ANC’s “The World Tonight”.

Degamo said the residents were provided food assistance. He added that rescue teams are already in the badly hit areas of La Libertad and Guihulngan.

“Lahat ng rescue team ngayon nandoon na sa area ng Solongan, La Libertad at Planas, Guihulngan. Dinivide ko sila to augment the military in retrieval operations,” he said.

However, Degamo noted that sending relief assistance to residents in La Libertad has been difficult due to damaged roads and bridges.

Ghost town

La Libertad has become a ghost town following the earthquake.

The fourth-class town, which is one of the hardest-hit by the Monday's earthquake, has become isolated after the bridge that connects it to the town of Jimalalud was destroyed.

La Libertad can now only be reached either on foot or on board a motorcycle.
   
An ABS-CBN News team found only soldiers in Barangay Solonggun.

The government troops are trying to look for about 60 villagers who are believed to be buried in a landslide that struck the barangay.
     
“Ang nagpapahirap sa amin ngayon ay i-locate ang mga bahay kasi may mga bahay mula sa taas na gumuho. ‘Yung mga nalo-locate lang namin ngayon ay ‘yung mga concrete na bahay,” said 2nd Lt. John Batay-an of the Army's 302nd Brigade.

Rescue came too late

A local resident, who accompanied the search team, urged rescuers to hurry up after he received a text message from his daughter Cindy, who was trapped under the rubble.
 
Cindy said in her text message that she didn't have any food except for biscuits, but she could already see light.

Cindy was finally found on Tuesday afternoon, but she was already dead.

Her body is the only one recovered from under the rubble so far.

Rescue workers vowed to continue looking for more quake victims. - reports from Jeff Canoy, Jorge Cariño, and Jasmin Romero, ABS-CBN News; ANC; Reuters; Agence France-Presse