Worshippers trapped in Bohol church leveled by quake; Loon town isolated

(Updated 7:42 a.m.) - At least three churchgoers were trapped inside Our Lady of Light Church in Loon, Bohol after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake shook the province and much of the Visayas region Tuesday morning. Photos sent by residents of the isolated town show rubble where the church once stood.

Like many churches in Bohol, the one in Loon was built by the Recollects during the Spanish era, in the 1780s. It was rebuilt several times after fires destroyed the structure.

Landslides triggered by the quake also buried an untold number of residents in their homes, according to Loon mayor Lloyd Peter Lopez.

The Loon church, the biggest in Bohol, collapsed into piles of stones and debris, Loon mayor Lloyd Peter Lopez told GMA News Online in a phone interview. Three victims buried in the rubble are considered missing, but time is running out to retrieve anyone alive.

Efforts to rescue them have been hampered by a lack of equipment. Roads and bridges were damaged, making it impossible to transport heavy-duty equipment to the town, Lopez said.

“Isolated kami rito sa Loon, that’s why we are declaring a state of emergency and a state of calamity,” Mayor Lopez said.

• Clarin Bridge
• Abatan and Bacong Bridge in Cortes
• Loay Bridge
• Loay Interior Road
• Provincial Bridge in Montana

The town of Loon has had no electricity or water since the earthquake struck shortly after 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Mobile phone service was also down but service was restored in the afternoon.

As of Tuesday night, at least 19 people were reported killed in Loon while more than 50 others were injured, Lopez disclosed.

The fatalities were from three different households. They were buried alive after a landslide destroyed their homes.

However, other families were still trapped in homes in the mountainous area of Loon.

“We need experts who can do the rescue,” Lopez lamented.

Food, water, and medical supplies

The Loon mayor sent a transport team to get supplies from the capital of Bohol, Tagbilaran City, some 28 kilometers away.

Aside from food and water, the mayor also requested additional medical supplies.

“We ran out of medicine and food… Kailangan din namin ng tubig kasi nasira ang mga water line at pumutok ang mga deep well. Kailangan namin ng mga gamot sa high blood at oral rehydration medicine because I am anticipating diarrhea in the coming days,” said Lopez, who is also a physician.

“We also need choppers right now. May dalawa kaming pasyente na serious ang condition. Kailangan nilang mailagay sa ICU (Intensive care Unit) at wala kaming facility na ganun dito. They have to be transported to Tagbilaran City,” the mayor added.

In a television interview, Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto said a Metro Manila Development Authority rescue team will proceed to Loon town after a stopover in Maribojoc town, which was also devastated by the earthquake.

Chatto said in a report aired on GMA News TV’s “State of the Nation” that the Loon Transport Team had arrived in Tagbilaran City, and was preparing to move the food and medical supplies back in Loon.

Apart from the historic Kasilak Church, other infrastructure in the town leveled by the quake were the Municipal Hall’s Annex Building and the Catholic school beside the church. Loon’s new market building and the Loon Sports and Cultural Center were also partially damaged.

Living in tents

According to Lopez, residents refused to seek refuge in evacuation centers or buildings, and opted to stay in tents set up in open spaces.

“The school yards, barangay hall yards and the municipal hall grounds serve as evacuation centers. We put up tents… Even though we have a school building, ayaw pumasok ng mga tao dahil takot sila,” the Loon mayor said.

“We are still experiencing aftershocks every 30 minutes to one hour hanggang ngayon,” he noted.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has recorded at least 289 aftershocks as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday or nine hours after the quake struck, Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said in a "24 Oras" report Tuesday.

Earlier, Solidum said the Bohol quake was stronger than the January 2010 Haiti earthquake. It was the strongest to hit Bohol in recent history. The second strongest shook Bohol in February 1990, measuring 6.8 magnitude. — DVM/HS/KG, GMA News