Negros Oriental Governor Manuel Sagarbarria ordered school administrators on Friday, Oct. 10, to conduct comprehensive structural assessments of buildings and other facilities over the weekend.
The governor ordered the suspension of classes at all levels in public and private schools across the province due to the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Davao Oriental around 9:43 a.m., which was felt in this provincial capital at Intensity II.
He also urged that alternative learning modalities be adopted until the suspension is lifted.
Dr. Juditha Mapue, assistant division of schools superintendent of the Department of Education (DepEd)-Dumaguete Division, said that after the earthquake struck, teachers and learners were told to vacate the classrooms immediately.
“The DepEd directed the immediate inspection of the buildings before the children were allowed to return to the classrooms”, Mapue.
The students eventually returned home before lunchtime after the governor suspended the classes, she added.
Sagarbarria noted in his executive order that the suspension of classes was a “precautionary measure,” considering it was felt in parts of Negros Oriental.
The governor further noted that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warned of aftershocks that could also be damaging.
While Phivolcs pegged Negros Oriental as having felt the tremor at Intensity II, netizens posted videos and pictures of the tremor and said they felt the ground shaking much stronger than the officially recorded intensity.
Private schools, colleges, and universities also announced the suspension of classes and immediately inspected buildings to determine their structural integrity.
Mapue said classes will resume next week once the suspension is lifted and that buildings and classrooms are declared safe and sound by engineers and other experts.*PNA