MANILA -- The number of fatalities in the strong quakes that rocked Tulunan, North Cotabato and nearby provinces last Tuesday and Thursday has climbed to 16, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.
In its Friday morning update, the agency said the two more fatalities are from the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck the locality Thursday morning.
The latest victims were identified as Tessie Alcayde, 70 and of Sitio Kapatagan, Barangay Luayon, Makilala, Cotabato; and Lito Peles Mino, 59, and a resident of Sitio Musak, Barangay Sinapulan, Columbio, Sultan Kudarat.
The NDRRMC said Alcayde "died due to the magnitude 6.5 earthquake" while Mino succumbed to a rockslide caused by the tremblor.
The agency said 20-year-old Romel Galicia, of Barangay Luayon, Makilala, Cotabato died after being hit by a falling tree while Precilla Verona, 70, a native of Sitio San Isidro, Barangay Malasila, also of Makilala, was hit by falling debris caused by Thursday's earthquake.
The two were among the 14 fatalities confirmed by the NDRRMC in its 8 p.m. update Thursday.
The number of injured remained at 403 with two other still missing. Meanwhile, damage to infrastructure was placed at 3,220 in Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region and Soccsksargen and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. (PNA)
