DAVAO CITY — Sultan Kudarat’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) stated that despite no sign of a tsunami threat, the province is on notice due to “very unusual” frequent and moderately strong tremors.
This year celebrates the 50th anniversary of the terrible Moro Gulf earthquake that struck on August 17, 1976, killing over 5,000 people, according to Lovely Joy Hallegado, chief of the Sultan Kudarat PDRRMO.
After a series of moderately strong earthquakes in the province, about 12,000 families are staying in evacuation centers, open spaces, and high ground in Sultan Kudarat’s coastal communities.
Due to their proximity to the coast, the municipalities of Palimbang, Lebak, and Kalamansig saw the most severe shaking and are currently being closely monitored by the provincial government.
residents in areas affected were reminded to follow the “duck, cover, and hold” routine during powerful tremors and to cooperate with authorities in the event that evacuations are ordered. The Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology had earlier advised residents in coastal areas to remain alert.
According to Hallegado, residents are already more vigilant and ready to evacuate if they feel strong shaking.
Many residents have chosen to stay in open spaces like plazas or in high places where they have setup tents, she continued.
Local government units are still keeping an eye on the situation and addressing to the evacuees’ needs.
(They know that they should go to evacuation centers when there is shaking; we don’t need to remind them or force them.)
The provincial government has begun distributing food assistance, according to the PDRRMO, and additional supplies are already on standby.
She added that the provincial government will set up a mobile kitchen by Friday night and send a mobile hospital to check on people at evacuation centers.
Thousands of smaller earthquakes are occurring as the Earth releases pressure beneath Mindanao, rather than a single major earthquake.
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