15 of 18 Cotabato towns, city suspend classes after quake –gov

The magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck Mindanao on Wednesday evening, and was strongly felt in Cotabato province, prompted several local authorities to suspend classes for Thursday.

"Labinlimang munisipalidad at siyudad na ang nagkaroon ng suspension ng pagpasok ng klase ngayong araw—pampubliko at pribadong mga eskwelahan," Cotabato Governor Emmylou Mendoza said in an interview on GMA News' Unang Balita.

"Kahit na ang kapitolyo ay walang pasok ngayon dahil ito ay nasa Kidapawan City at mayroon ding mga kailangangang tingnan sa aming mga gusali at pasilidad," she added.

Only the towns of Alamada, Aleosan, and Banisilan did not declare class suspensions in Cotabato, she added.

"Tatlong munisipyo lang ang hindi nag-declare ng suspension ng klase. Medyo hindi nakarating o mahinang-mahina ang paglindol," Mendoza said.

Meanwhile, according to the Office of Civil Defense in Region XII, damage assessment is ongoing.

"Ang pinakamalaki pong naitalang nagkaroon ng damage is 'yung Kidapawan City, M'lang, at Tulunan po," OCD-Region XII information officer Jorie Mae Balmediano said in a separate interview.

As of 3 a.m. on Thursday, 246 aftershocks have been recorded in Mindanao following the magnitude 6.3 earthquake, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. —Dona Magsino/LBG, GMA News