The death toll due to the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the province of Sarangani on Monday rose to 37 with 488 persons injured and four missing, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Deputy Administrator for Administration, Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV reported on Tuesday.

Majority of the fatalities were recorded in Soccsksargen where 33 people died, 456 were injured and four others were missing. The other casualties were reported in Davao Region with four deaths and 23 people injured.

Alejandro said "a total of 32,926 families or 145,693 persons are affected in 163 barangays" in Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region, Soccsksargen and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Amid the opening of classes in other parts of the country on Monday, the Department of Education reported that almost 8,208 classes were suspended in the regions affected by the quake.

"On damaged school facilities mostly were recorded in Region 12, it reached 1,023, in Region 11, 192 school facilities. So, the assessment continues. According to DepEd the classes in the affected areas will return to normal after three to four days," said Alejandro.

"As of now, there are no classes in the entire Regions 11 and 12, and in BARMM many have suspended their classes to assess the classrooms, school facilities for the safety and security of our learners," he added.

Based on partial assessment on the damage caused by the earthquake, Alejandro said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported 232 million pesos cost of damage to national highways in the affected provinces.

"As of this morning, there are four national roads that are closed to traffic. One of which is in Davao Occidental and three others in South Cotabato. So, the restoration of DPWH is ongoing," he said.

"We have around 2,505 houses reported damage, 460 are reported totally damaged and 2,045 partially damaged. So, we will also generate housing materials, housing repair kits, and even temporary shelters due to aftershocks," he added.

Alejandro confirmed that the operation of the General Santos International Airport remains limited to military flights.

"Hopefully, before June 12 it will be fixed," he said. Robina Asido/PHS