Davao del Norte cities, towns suspend classes after 7.4 quake

DAVAO, Philippines – Seven local governments ordered the suspension of face-to-face classes on Monday, December 4, to allow building safety inspections in Davao del Norte, in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake in Mindanao on Saturday night, December 2.

Face-to-face classes at all levels were ordered suspended in the cities of Panabo and Samal, and the towns of B.E. Dujali, Asuncion, Carmen, Santo Tomas, and New Corella, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) logged hundreds of aftershocks less than a day after the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that shook many parts of Mindanao on Saturday night.

Eduardo Lauron, Phivolcs officer-in-charge for the Davao region, said they recorded at least 582 aftershocks after the earthquake that struck around 10:37 pm on Saturday off the coast of Hinatuan town in Surigao del Sur province, as of 11 am on Sunday, December 3.

Aftershocks are not uncommon. These are typical seismic occurrences following a strong quake, and they gradually decrease in intensity and frequency over time.

Lauron noted that, of the aftershocks, only about seven were strong enough to be felt before noon Sunday, while the others were mostly minor and went unnoticed.

Various cities in Mindanao experienced power outages, and a section of Bolton Bridge in populous Davao City was closed to motorists due to visible cracks. 

Local disaster monitoring teams were assessing the extent of the damage. – Rappler.com