Abra quake damage to road infra at P396.6M — DPWH

The cost of damage sustained by roads and bridges due to the magnitude 7 earthquake that hit Northern Luzon reached nearly P400 million, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Friday.

In its monitoring as of 6 a.m., July 29, the DPWH said the partial cost of damage to road infrastructure was recorded at P396.58 million.

Broken down, the damage cover P104.53 million on national roads and P292.05 million on national bridges in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Regions I, and II.

The DPWH said five remaining impassable road sections in CAR and Region I are still being cleared by the the agency’s Quick Response Teams.

The still impassable roads are the following:

•     Lubuagan-Batong Buhay Road K0463+700, K0464+000 sections in Puapo, Dangtalan, Pasil and K0464+600, K0464+700, K0464+800 sections in Colong, Lower Uma, Lubuagan, in Kalinga Province (due to landslide and rock collapse)
•     Baguio-Bontoc Road K0347+090 - K0347+180, and K0347+280 - K0347+340 Mt. Data Cliff, Bauko, Mt. Province (due to soil collapse)
•     Tagudin-Cervantes Road K0350+950, and K0353+100 section in Ilocos Sur (due to landslide and rockslide)
•     Jct. Santiago-Banayoyo-Lidlidda-San Emilio-Quirino Road K0393+000 Brgy. Cayos, Quirino, Ilocos Sur (due to landslide and rockslide)
•     Cervantes-Aluling-Bontoc Road K0387+(-950), Brgy. Aluling, Cervantes, Ilocos Sur (due to landslide and rockslide).

“Target reopening of affected roads in CAR is by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, 2022,” the DPWH said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the number of reported fatalities due to the magnitude 7 earthquake that hit Abra increased to six.

A total of 79,260 people or 19,486 families in 246 barangays in Ilocos and CAR were affected by the earthquake, the NDRRMC said.

It added that around 5,819 individuals or 1,622 families were staying inside 26 evacuation centers, while 1,512 persons or 360 families were staying outside evacuation centers.

A total of 1,583 homes were damaged by the quake — 1,535 partially and 48 totally — in Ilocos and CAR.

The NDRRMC also said around P48.3 million worth of damage has been reported in Ilocos, Cagayan, and CAR.

The National Irrigation Administration reported P4.5 million worth of damage, the NDRRMC said, while the Department of Agriculture reported over P3.8 million worth of damage in CAR.

The quake occurred at 8:43 a.m. on July 27 and was located at 17.64°N, 120.63°E - 003 km N 45° W of Tayum in Abra. It was felt strongly in many areas in Luzon, including in Metro Manila.—AOL, GMA News