(Rescuers identify the body of victim Mayann Sales, 25-year-old employee of collapsed Chuzon Supermarket in Porac town. Photo by Deng Pangilinan)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The death toll has climbed to 11 and scores are still reported missing as of press time Tuesday after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake jolted Luzon at 5:11 p.m. Monday.
Search and rescue operations are still ongoing at the Chuzon Supermarket in Porac town where five persons died, including a mother and her two children and two supermarket employees, while eight were injured and scores remained missing.
Two of the dead, a grandmother and her grandchild, were smashed by a firewall in Sta Cruz, Lubao while three more fatalities were reported in different parts of the province.
Gov. Lilia G. Pineda went on air immediately after the quake and declared a state-of-calamity in Pampanga with the concurrence of the sangguniang panlalawigan on Tuesday.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines reported that it completed restoration of earthquake affected facilities and power transmission lines in Central Luzon and were back to normal as of 6:44 a.m. Tuesday.
The building housing the Punto Central Luzon office was declared safe at around noontime Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the concrete welcome arch of Pampanga from Bataan collapsed causing traffic to a standstill at the Olongapo-Gapan Road for at least two hours on Monday.
The belfry of the St. Catherine Church in Porac collapsed while that of the St. Augustine church in Lubao suffered damages.
The Clark airport was closed for 24 hours starting Monday after suffering damaged at its departure area.
The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway developed cracks and boulders were reported rolling down on to the road while a bridge in Floridablanca was rendered impassable.
The access road at the west mega-dike was closed after cracks were found.
The 6.1 magnitude earthquake caused panic among mall goers in the province and prompting the malls’ evacuation and early closures while damage to churches and public and private property were also reported in the western part of the province, especially in the second district.
Military and disaster officials reported receiving information of minor injuries and damage in adjacent areas where the temblor was also felt.
Porac Vice Mayor Dexter David, in an interview with GMA 7, showed videos of the ongoing rescue operation in the collapsed supermarket building in the town.
David appealed for assistance from the national government, especially for rescuers to help the people trapped inside the supermarket.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the epicenter of the tectonic quake was 18 kilometers northeast of Castillejos, Zambales, striking at around 5:11 p.m. with a depth of 21 kilometers.
Monday’s earthquake was observed as the deadliest earthquake in the Philippines since the 7.2 magnitude Bohol earthquake in 2013.
