Thousands remained displaced and more than 450 injured following the magnitude-7.8 quake that struck off the southern island of Mindanao on Monday, according to national and local disaster agencies, though only four people were now believed missing.In hardest-hit Sarangani province, some areas remain accessible only by helicopter and fears of aftershocks were slowing rescue efforts, local officials told reporters at a Tuesday briefing."There are still aftershocks, so the rescuers are very cautious in their approach. That's a challenge," said regional civil defence chief Rodrigo Sosmena.A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, while hundreds of tiny quakes followed.Infrastructure damage, meanwhile, means some communities will be cut off for at least a week because of the damage to roads and the collapse of a bridge.
© Ferdinandh Cabrera / AFP
At a hospital just outside General Santos, the region's largest city, AFP reporters heard cries of "push" then an infant's cries as a mother gave birth outdoors behind a makeshift screen.In Glan municipality, where at least 13 people were buried in their homes by a landslide, staff at another hospital told AFP more than 60 patients were on beds outside the facility due to fears for the building's structural integrity."The hospital sustained a lot of damage," she said. "The municipal engineer decided we could not use the building."As of Tuesday morning, the death toll from provincial sources contacted by AFP stood at 41.RecoveryOutside a collapsed grocery store in General Santos, rescuers resumed efforts after an overnight break to recover two store employees who were inside when the building crumpled.AFP journalists watched as rescue dogs and their handlers scoured the pile of broken concrete and jagged metal bars.
