MANILA — The powerful earthquake that hit Abra province this week injured at least 44 people and affected some 18,000 families, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Thursday.

The 6.4-magnitude quake struck the mountain town of Dolores in Abra late Tuesday, barely 3 months a magnitude 7 temblor hit the province and shook buildings hundreds of kilometers away in Metro Manila.

Confirmed injuries from the latest quake came from the towns of Dingras and Banna in Ilocos Norte, and the towns of Lagayan, Daguioman, San Quintin, Bangued, La Paz, Sallapadan, Pidigan, San Juan, Pilar, and Malibcong in Abra, the NDRRMC said in its 8 a.m. report.

The ages of the injured ranged from 8 to 76 years old, NDRRMC data showed.

• Magnitude-6.4 earthquake strikes Abra

Some 61,000 people or 18,478 families across 3 regions in Luzon were also affected by the quake, with 341 persons displaced from their homes.

The quake damaged 1,821 houses and 125 structures, mostly roads and bridges, the NDRRMC reported.

It pegged the damage to infrastructure at P52.7 million.

As of Thursday, the government has extended P207,988.25 worth of assistance to affected residents, the NDRRMC said.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also provided food packs, tents and financial aid.

IMPACT

Most of those affected are still afraid to return inside their homes and have set up tents as temporary shelter.

In Lagayan, Abra, cracks were seen at the Pulot National High School building as a result of the shaking.

Various equipment and objects inside classrooms and offices were toppled over.

"We had a room in there with old laptops that toppled like dominoes. The walls and the posts were destroyed. It's no longer safe to use," Esterio Apolinar, principal of the school, told AFP.

The newly-constructed Lagayan Municipal Hall also suffered damage.

Employees were supposed to transfer there this November, but this may be postponed following the temblor.

Weakened structures like the Iglesia Filipina Independiente church in La Paz town sustained greater damage.

During the first quake in July, the church had already suffered a few cracks.

But following Tuesday night’s earthquake, a huge portion of the belfry had completely fallen.

The quake also left larger cracks on the church’s walls and ceilings.

Parish priest Christian Edward Padua said the church, built in 1985, would be hard to rehabilitate, especially if original materials were to be used.

He could not estimate the cost of damage to the church, saying such a structure was considered priceless.

Meanwhile, aftershocks continued to rock Abra.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanolgy and Seismology has recorded 616 aftershocks were recorded, 7 of which were felt, as of 7 a.m.

• 600 aftershocks recorded after strong Abra quake: Phivolcs

Quakes are a daily occurrence in the Philippines, which sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic and volcanic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

— With a report from Agence France-Presse

RELATED VIDEO:

Watch more News on iWantTFC