Deadly quake near Philippines: Houses collapsed
Terrified schoolchildren and collapsed buildings. About thirty people have lost their lives and over 200 have been injured in a powerful earthquake off the southern Philippines.
A tsunami warning was issued but that danger is now considered over.
The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 and its epicenter was 13 kilometers south of the Philippine port city of General Santos, according to the US Geological Survey. There, a number of buildings are reported to have collapsed and a major bridge has cracked.
Disaster authorities are in the process of assessing the damage and at least 32 deaths have been reported so far. At least three of them died in General Santos and in the neighboring province of Sarangani, at least 13 were killed in a landslide, according to information to the AP. In addition, two people were killed when a wall collapsed on them in the community of Alabel, a police chief said.
Collapsed buildings
Flood damage and power outages were reported from other places. Posts on social media, verified by the AFP news agency, showed how a fast food restaurant in a shopping mall collapsed and how an empty school building collapsed. Another post showed scared and screaming schoolchildren holding on tightly to their teacher as the quake continued.
“Our car suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire,” said Rod Sosmeña, regional director of the civil defense, who was on his way to work when the ground began to shake during the night to Monday Swedish time.
He says that terrified people ran into the streets. According to police, several buildings have collapsed.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos promises full disaster relief for the island of Mindanao, where General Santos is located.
An aftershock
People were initially urged to move to higher ground. Tsunami waves of up to one meter high reached the coast of the Philippines, and initially a tsunami warning was issued for Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia, among others. The warning was withdrawn after a few hours.
The quake occurred at a depth of 35 kilometers, according to the USGS. An aftershock with a magnitude of 6.1 has also occurred at a depth of 67 kilometers.
The Philippines lies along the so-called Ring of Fire, an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity.
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