At least 7 killed as strong quakes strike southern Philippines
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MANILA – Two powerful quakes struck off the southern Philippines on Oct 10, killing at least seven people and triggering tsunami warnings.
The biggest of the quakes, with a magnitude of 7.4, hit about 20km off Manay town on the country’s southern Mindanao island just before 10am, according to the United States Geological Survey.
An aftershock with a magnitude of 6.7 rocked the same area almost 10 hours later, one of scores that followed the morning quake.
Both came 11 days after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake
Three miners tunnelling for gold were killed when a shaft collapsed in the mountains west of Manay during the larger quake, said rescue official Kent Simeon of Pantukan town.
One miner was pulled out alive and several others were injured in the remote hamlet of Gumayan, he added.
“Some tunnels collapsed, but the miners managed to get out,” Mr Simeon said.
One person was killed in Mati city, the largest urban centre near the epicentre, when a wall collapsed, while another suffered a fatal heart attack, officials said.
Another person was crushed by falling debris in Davao city, more than 100km west of the epicentre, police said.
The Philippine authorities issued tsunami warnings shortly after the morning quake, ordering evacuations along the eastern seaboard.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre lifted its alert for the Philippines, Palau and Indonesia at around noon.
A video posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed people in the city of Davao calmly holding on to parked vehicles that rocked from side to side as the ground shook and metal gates rattled nearby.
Ms Richie Diuyen, a disaster official in Manay near the epicentre, said the quake lasted 30 to 40 seconds and initial damage included some houses, the facade of a church, cracked roads and unpassable bridges.
“We couldn’t stand earlier. I am 46 years old now, and this is the strongest earthquake I have ever felt,” she said over the phone.
Ms Wes Caasi, an official in Tagum city, north-west of Manay, said a government event at the city hall descended into chaos as panicked attendees fled. “They screamed and ran,” she said.
Confirming videos that circulated on social media, Ms Caasi said she saw city workers scrambling down a metal Christmas tree they were decorating when the first quake struck.
Witnesses and officials said the quakes appeared to have caused only minor damage, while PHIVOLCS – the agency that tracks earthquakes and volcanic eruptions – said it recorded more than 300 aftershocks.
Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said the authorities were assessing the situation on the ground, and that search-and-rescue teams would fan out once it was safe. “We are working round the clock to ensure that help reaches everyone who needs it,” he said in a statement.
Warning of strong aftershocks
PHIVOLCS warned of aftershocks as large as 6.4 in magnitude, and urged people in affected areas to stay away from the shoreline.
People in coastal areas were earlier told to move inland or seek higher ground.
Verified footage from the southern Philippines showed workers filing out of buildings to gather in the streets, lamps swaying in shops, and offices with toppled cabinets and workers holding on to desks as structures and fittings around them creaked.
Video images from Indonesia’s island of Sulawesi showed fishing boats returning from the sea, and children playing on a beach from which water had receded.
Phivolcs revised down the magnitude from an initial reading of 7.6 to 7.4, and put the depth of the quake at 23km.
The governor of Davao del Norte said some people panicked when the quake struck.
“Some buildings were reported to have been damaged,” Mr Edwin Jubahib told DZMM. “It was very strong.” REUTERS, AFP
