President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., flew to the northern provinces of the Philippines that were recently ravaged by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake. He directed officials to expedite recovery efforts, as many areas remained without power, safe drinking water, or passable roads.
“Many of the people who live there are afraid to return to their homes, because for one, the assessment of the structures is ongoing, and secondly, there are still aftershocks,” said Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, spokesman for the disaster agency.
Relief workers struggled to reach remote areas cut off by landslides and fallen debris in the aftermath of the earthquake on Tuesday. At least five people have been confirmed dead.
The largest hospital in Batac City had to evacuate its patients after a section of the intensive care unit’s ceiling fell as the building swayed, according to the Epoch Times.
Medical consultation services were temporarily suspended while engineers assessed the building’s damage, according to officials.
Due to downed power lines, at least two towns in the northern province of Cagayan experienced momentary power outages. Many bridges and roads in remote regions were also damaged.
Ron Sequerra, a rescuer in the northern province of Abra, told reporters, “We hid under a table and my family only went out of the house after the shaking stopped.”
In La Paz, a town in Abra, a century-old Christian church reportedly suffered damage, with parts of its belfry collapsing and some of its walls cracking, leaving debris all over its grassy yard.
The arrival of President Marcos on the scene was preceded by Erwin Tulfo, his social welfare secretary, who visited the northern provinces to assess the extent of the damage, Benar News reported.
Beyond the destruction of the initial quake, aftershocks are still ongoing, causing fear and complicating relief efforts.
As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Philippine government reported that 409 aftershocks had been recorded.
President Marcos suggested that emergency relief was reaching the area, saying, “We do not have a critical problem when it comes to food and shelter. That is the most important part of the relief that we have to provide now for the people affected by the earthquake.”
In the four northern provinces affected, many roads remained closed in the aftermath, primarily in the mountainous Cordillera Administrative Region.
While an immediate road-clearing operation is underway, at least 22 roads in the region were reportedly impassable, meaning that military planes will have to be used to deliver supplies to these areas.
President Marcos tweeted that the departments of public works, social welfare, energy, and local government are assessing quake-hit areas and are ready to help, advising people to avoid tall buildings.
