The CARAGA Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) remains under Blue Alert Status following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Davao Oriental on Friday, October 10.
As of Saturday, October 11, assessment and inspection of critical structures and infrastructure across the region are ongoing.
According to the situational report of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Caraga, the Tago-Gamut Bridge in Surigao del Sur has been temporarily closed due to damage, while Sabang Bridge 3 was also reported to have sustained structural cracks.
Meanwhile, the Magsaysay Bridge in Butuan City has been reopened to light vehicles after a temporary closure on Friday for rapid inspection. Engineers found cracks on the bridge’s asphalt pavement but clarified these were part of its design.
DPWH Butuan District Engineer Jose Ceasar Radazar explained that the cracks were “normal” and intended to absorb ground movement, assuring the public that the bridge remains structurally safe.
On the disaster response side, Local Emergency Operations Centers across the five provinces in the Caraga Region remain on standby to assist residents displaced by the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami alert issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) on Friday night.
In a related development, the Department of Science and Technology–PHIVOLCS issued a Red Orange Tsunami Warning for the provinces of Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, and Davao Oriental following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the same evening.