DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Around 145 high schools students in Davao City experienced trauma after an earthquake jolted some parts of Mindanao on Wednesday morning.
City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) head Alfredo Baloran, in a phone interview, said that around 145 students of Crossing Bayabas National High School in Toril experienced difficulty in breathing, nausea, while some fell unconscious after the quake.
Out of 145, 95 students were rushed to the nearby hospitals due to hyperventilation but were later discharged.
No individual was reported injured.
Baloran clarified that there was no stampede during the incident contrary to the earlier report by Davao City Police Office Director Alexander Tagum.
Tagum earlier reported that students panicked which caused a stampede as they evacuated towards the lower grounds.
Authorities and rescue groups immediately responded to the incident. Tagum added a command center was established at the campus to address the patients’ needs.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake rocked Makilala town in North Cotabato on July 10, Wednesday, at 8:56 a.m., an aftershock of the magnitude 5.6 quake on Tuesday evening in the same town.
The local government urged the public to participate in the upcoming city-wide “Shake Out Drill” or the Full Scale Earthquake and Tsunami Drill slated on July 26.
Now on its third year, the drill will be participated by Davaoeños from public and private sectors, schools and government agencies. It aims to develop a disaster-resilient community. (davaooday.com)
