Food needed in Philippine villages affected by the earthquake

General Santos (Philippines) (AFP) – The mayor of a southern Philippine town devastated by a strong earthquake on Thursday appealed for helicopters to transport food to stave off hunger in several villages isolated by landslides.

The 7.8-magnitude offshore quake, one of the strongest to hit the Philippine archipelago in half a century, struck on Monday off the southern province of Sarangani, killing at least 47 people, injuring 688 others and leaving 31 still missing.

More than 45,000 people remained displaced, nearly half of them in emergency shelters, after the earthquake damaged more than 12,600 homes in agricultural towns and cities. Regional officials said many were still suffering from such severe shock that they could not return to their homes due to aftershocks.

Sarangani announced that 20 people were killed in the quake, the highest death toll in the affected provinces, most of them due to a landslide that buried homes in the coastal town of Glan, according to the government Civil Defense Office, which deals with major disasters.

Glan Mayor Victor James Yap said electricity had not been restored to his district, and that 10 of 31 villages in his city, home to more than 100,000 people, remained inaccessible due to landslides. He called on the government to immediately deploy Air Force helicopters to deliver food and other aid to the affected areas.

“We need food and water but it is difficult to transport them to some of our villages that are still isolated,” Yap told DZMM Radio Network. “Helicopters are needed to transport food because people there are already very hungry.”

A main road into the city reopened and will allow fuel deliveries early Thursday, but the city remained without power and mobile phone services remained spotty, according to Yap.

The Civil Defense Office said more than 26 million pesos ($426,000) worth of food, cash and other aid have been provided so far, and 180 government and military aircraft, helicopters, ships and trucks have been deployed to respond to the disaster.

She added that about 3,400 government and military personnel participated in efforts to search for missing persons, remove debris from roads, assess damage, and other disaster mitigation work.

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday visited the hard-hit city of General Santos, where he inspected damaged hospitals and schools and discussed recovery efforts. He ordered the release of 100 million pesos ($1.6 million) to repair the partially collapsed municipal building and 50,000 pesos ($820) to the families of each of the victims who died in the quake.

Most of the deaths from the quake were caused by falling debris from collapsed buildings and landslides in Sarangani, the coastal city of General Santos, and the remote provinces of South Cotabato and Davao Occidental.

Two swimmers drowned and another remained missing off General Santos after being swept out to sea shortly after the quake. Waves up to 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) above tide level were measured in the south of the country, and smaller waves washed ashore in Indonesia, Palau and as far away as southern Japan.

The earthquake was one of the strongest to hit the country since an 8.1-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on August 17, 1976, which killed about 8,000 people.

The Philippines is frequently exposed to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

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Associated Press journalist Jim Gomez contributed to this report from Manila, Philippines.

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