Disasters & Accidents

Philippines assesses damages of 6.4 earthquake in country’s north

Manila, Oct 26 (EFE) .- The Philippines said Wednesday it was evaluating damages caused by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that shook the island of Luzon, north of the Philippines, with no known fatalities as of press time.

Several images published on social media by the Ilocos Norte fire service in northern Luzon, show substantial damage to public buildings and the Mariano Marcos hospital in Batac, 60 kilometers from the earthquake’s epicenter, where more than 200 patients were evacuated, hospital sources told EFE.

The tremor was felt in Manila, the capital, about 320 kilometers south of the epicenter.

The earthquake hit the provinces of Abra and Ilocos Norte, the same area that suffered a strong earthquake in late July, leaving at least 10 dead and serious damages to civil infrastructure in more than 30 cities, as well as to historic buildings in the Vigan city.

The United States Geological Survey, which records seismic activity worldwide, placed the earthquake at a depth of 15 kilometers and about 12 kilometers east of the town of Dolores, with about 32,500 inhabitants.

The earthquake, which occurred at about 11:00pm (GMT+ 8), was followed by numerous smaller aftershocks that occurred throughout early Wednesday morning.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on social media Wednesday there could be possible aftershocks and urged citizens to “stay away from tall buildings.”

The Philippines sits on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” an area that accumulates about 90 percent of the world’s seismic and volcanic activity, and is shaken by some 7,000 tremors a year, most of them moderate. EFE

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