At least two dead after magnitude 7.4 earthquake hits Philippines

Manila: A magnitude 7.4 earthquake off the southern Philippines has killed at least two people, damaged a hospital and schools, knocked out power and prompted evacuations of coastal areas.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said the potential damage was being assessed and rescue teams and relief operations were being prepared and would be deployed when it was safe to do so.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it was expecting damage and aftershocks from the earthquake, which on Friday morning local time was centred at sea, about 43 kilometres east of Manay town in Davao Oriental province, and was caused by movement in the Philippine Trench at a depth of 23 kilometres.

At least two people died after being pinned in damaged houses in Davao Oriental, provincial Governor Nelson Dayanghirang Sr told ABS-CBN News Channel, adding that about 250 patients were evacuated from a damaged hospital and would be temporarily housed in tents.

Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said several buildings sustained cracks in their walls, including an international airport in Davao city, but it remained operational without any flights being cancelled, Alejandro said.

“I was driving my car when it suddenly swayed and I saw powerlines swaying wildly. People darted out of houses and buildings as the ground shook and electricity came off,” Jun Saavedra, a disaster-mitigation officer of Governor Generoso town in Davao Oriental, told The Associated Press.

“We’ve had earthquakes in the past, but this was the strongest,” Saavedra said, adding that the intense ground swaying caused cracks in several buildings, including a high school, where about 50 students were brought to a hospital by ambulance after sustaining bruises, fainting or becoming dizzy due to the earthquake.

Governor Generoso is a town about 100 kilometres south of Manay, where classes in all levels were also suspended.

Children evacuated schools in Davao city, which has about 5.4 million people and is the biggest city near the epicentre, about 250 kilometres west of Davao Oriental province.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu said small waves were detected on the coasts of the Philippines and Indonesia before the threat passed about two hours after the quake. It said small sea fluctuations may continue.

Alejandro warned that tsunami waves could hit six nearby coastal provinces from Davao Oriental up to two hours after the earthquake struck at 9:43 a.m. “We urge these coastal communities to be on alert and immediately evacuate to higher grounds until further notice,” Alejandro said in a video news briefing.

Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency said small tsunami waves were detected in North Sulawesi province with heights ranging from 3.5 to 17 centimetres in Melonguane, Beo, Essang and Ganalo in Talaud Islands districts.

The Philippines is still recovering from a September 30 earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 that left at least 74 people dead and displaced thousands of people in the central province of Cebu, particularly in Bogo city and outlying towns.

The archipelago also is lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms each year, making disaster response a major task of the government and volunteer groups.

Associated Press

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