According to the interior secretary of the Philippines, a strong earthquake in the country's north has left at least four people dead and 60 others injured.
The country's largest and most populous island, Luzon, was slammed by an earthquake on Wednesday at 8:43 a.m. (00:43 GMT). The earthquake caused some landslides and several houses to collapse in the province of Abra, which is mountainous and sparsely populated. More than 400km (249 miles) away in the island's capital, Manila, which is situated in the south, the earthquakes caused high-rise structures to tremble.The US Geological Survey (USGS), the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), and the Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology all determined the earthquake's preliminary magnitude to be 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3, respectively (Phivolcs).
Later, Phivolcs reduced the magnitude to 7.0. Even so, it was the greatest earthquake to hit the Philippines in a long time.
Among those killed was a guy in Abra who was struck by falling cement slabs while inside his home. At least 25 other people were hurt, most of whom were hospitalized, according to officials.In the strawberry-growing mountain town of La Trinidad in the province of Benguet, where several roads were blocked by landslides and rocks, a construction worker was also struck by rubble and killed.Initially planning to go to the damaged area, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whose hometown is in the northern Philippines, ordered rescue and relief teams to be deployed to Abra. However, he then decided to postpone his journey so as not to interfere with the emergency response.
According to USGS, the center of the earthquake was around 11 km (7 mi) east-southeast of the town of Dolores.
Local authorities and citizens posted images of the damaged buildings on social media, showing some fully destroyed and others leaning precariously with broken windows.
Roadways were left destroyed and with some automobiles smashed by the rubble.In Dolores, Police Major Edwin Sergio told the AFP news agency that the earthquake was "quite strong" and mentioned that the police station building had some minor cracks.A legislator from the Ilocos Sur province in northern Philippines named Eric Singson told DZMM radio that the earthquake lasted for at least 30 seconds. I was afraid my house would collapse."Right now, we're attempting to contact people. We are currently outside our home because there are earthquakes, he continued.
A hospital was evacuated elsewhere in the province of Abra when the structure partially collapsed.
"Aftershocks are still happening to us. There have been reports of homes being damaged. However, there have been no injuries so yet, according to Lagangilang's mayor, Rovelyn Villamor.
Villamor told DZRH radio, "We don't have power supply since that's immediately switched off due to hazard."
Structures constructed during the Spanish colonial era and dating back hundreds of years were damaged at Vigan City, a province close by called Ilocos Sur. On-lookers fled as the city's Bantay Bell Tower started to collapse, as shown in a video posted to Twitter and Facebook.
According to the Philippines Red Cross, workers on the ground are evaluating the damage in the impacted communities.After the earthquake in Manila, numerous high-rise office and residential skyscrapers were evacuated, along with the Senate, and the city's metro rail systems were temporarily shut down.
The streets were already filled with people. They were stuck in traffic, en route to work, or already at their workplaces, according to Barnaby Lo of Al Jazeera, who is in the city. "Millions of people, not just those in the northern Philippines, felt this earthquake."
After being vetted by officials, people in Manila were allowed to go back to their houses and places of business.The Pacific "Ring of Fire," a 40,000 km (25,000 mi) arc of strong seismic activity that extends from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin, passes through the Philippines.More than 200 people died and several landslides were caused when a magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocked Bohol Island in the central Philippines in October 2013.
The catastrophe resulted in the eviction of up to 400,000 individuals from their houses.
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