AT LEAST 164 schools were damaged by the magnitude 7 earthquake that shook Abra last Wednesday.

The Department of Education said that 9,539 schools in 58 divisions were affected by the earthquake.

This is relatively higher than the department’s initial report of 8,027 affected and 35 damaged institutions as of July 27.

The government estimates that P940 million will be needed to repair and rehabilitate the damaged schools.

“The Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service also convened the Central Office Quick Response and Recovery Team to ensure timely, adequate, and effective response and recovery interventions in the aftermath of a disaster, as mandated by DepEd Order No. 44, s. 2018,” DepEd said.

“The DRRMS also called for a meeting with the National Education Cluster Partners to provide updates on the affected schools,” it added.

The DDRMS assured the public that it is coordinating with the field DRRM coordinators to get the latest updates on the number of affected learners, teachers and non-teaching personnel.