NO MAJOR DAMAGE. Engr. Emerald Signar (center), assistant head of the City Engineer’s Office, on Monday (Dec. 16, 2019) says no major damages were recorded in government and private buildings and other vital structures in General Santos City in the wake of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit parts of Mindanao on Sunday afternoon. Also in photo are City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head Agripino Dacera Jr.(right) and City Administrator Arnel Zapatos (left). (PNA photo by Richelyn Gubalani)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- No major damages were recorded in government and private buildings and other vital structures here in the wake of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit parts of Mindanao on Sunday afternoon.
Engr. Emerald Signar, assistant head of the City Engineer’s Office, said their assessment teams only found minor cracks so far in some buildings of the city government and several private establishments.
Signar said among the structures inspected by the assessment teams were the main city hall building, oval plaza covered court, city gymnasium, city terminal, central public market, city hospital and several bridges.
He said their teams also conducted inspections on reported damages at the KCC and SM malls and other commercial establishments.
“We made a rapid sweep of various vital structures and we did not find any significant damage so far,” he said in a press briefing.
He said the assessment of school buildings in private and public schools as well as other government buildings are ongoing in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Mayor Ronnel Rivera ordered the inspection and assessment of buildings in the city following the 2:11 p.m. quake on Sunday, which was felt at Intensity 6 in the city.
The mayor has suspended classes on Monday in all levels in the city to facilitate the inspection.
Signar said the result of their initial assessment shows that buildings in the city were constructed based on engineering standards. He said a properly-built building or any related structure should not collapse in an Intensity 6 or even magnitude 6 to 7 earthquake.
“The minor cracks that we found were consistent with the definition of an Intensity 6 quake. The intensity was not enough to really damage our buildings,” he said.
Dr. Agripino Dacera Jr., head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said 30 persons were brought to local hospitals due to hyperventilation and two for minor injuries.
Dacera said the injuries were sustained by falling building debris during the quake. (PNA)
