Last July 27, “twin quakes” with magnitudes of 5.4 and 5.9 struck the remote island of Itbayat, Batanes, claiming nine lives and destroying many homes and town structures. To make things worse, one of the aftershocks of the earthquakes came on Aug. 1 in the form of a magnitude 4 earthquake. A total of 911 families comprised of 2,963 individuals have been affected by the earthquakes, with damages estimated to be at P47 million, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
As of writing, the survivors have been staying in makeshift tents at their town plaza. “‘Yun ang kulang sa amin kasi kakaunti lang ang dumadating na tents tapos more than 2,000 na tao ‘yung nandito sa plaza tapos daily na umuulan lalo na sa gabi, kaya pagdating sa gabi, basa kami,” said Nina Garcia of the Itbayat Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.
To help the survivors of the earthquake, the Inquirer Foundation (the charity arm of the Inquirer Group of Companies) has set up a Batanes quake donation drive. You can deposit cash donations to the Inquirer Foundation Corp. Banco De Oro (BDO) Current Account No: 007960018860, and email any inquiries to Inquirer’s Corporate Affairs office through [email protected] or call 8978808 local 238 or 352.
If you’d rather send physical items like tents, emergency lights, blankets, clothes, and insect repellants, you can donate these items, too. According to artist Pio Abad, a Batanes native, donation drop off points are at the following places in Quezon City: the NCIP Central Office, the Batanes Ivatan Art Gallery, and the Valp Building. Donors in South Manila can message the South Manila contact person Roring at 0939-9016472 while North Manila donors can contact Marco at 0998-9885468.
We at Nolisoli.ph urged everyone to give what they can to the survivors of the quake. A little can go a long, long way.
Featured photo courtesy of Inquirer.net
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Writer: ZOFIYA ACOSTA
