VIGAN, Philippines (Reuters) – A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the northern Philippine island of Luzon on Wednesday, killing at least five people, damaging buildings and causing strong tremors in the capital, Manila.
At least 64 people were injured and 173 buildings damaged, officials said, many in Abra province, just 11 km (six miles) from the quake’s epicenter. More than 200 aftershocks have been recorded in the area, according to the state seismology agency, and 58 landslides were also recorded as a result.
“Despite the sad news about the damage caused by the earthquake, we are ensuring a quick response to the people in need and affected by this calamity,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Facebook.
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The earthquake struck near the political stronghold of the Marcos family.
Renato Solidum, director of the state seismology agency, told DZRH radio station that strong aftershocks were expected.
The earthquake struck near the political stronghold of the Marcos family.
A hospital in Abra province was evacuated after the building partially collapsed, but there were no casualties, officials said.
Emergency crews carry out rescue operations outside a building that collapsed during the earthquake in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines on July 27, 2022. Public Information Service-Bureau of Fire Protection/Brochure via Reuters
Abra Deputy Governor Joy Bernos posted photos of the damaged Abra Hospital on her Facebook account, showing a gaping hole in its facade.
Other photos showed hospital beds, including one with a patient, being driven across a road and hospital staff being evacuated.
Two people died in Benguet province, one in Abra province, one in Kalinga and one in Cagayan Valley.
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Home to nearly 250,000 people, Abra is a landlocked province in the northern Philippines. Its deep valleys and sloping hills are enclosed by rugged mountains.
The Philippines is prone to natural disasters and lies on the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a band of volcanoes and faults that arc around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. Earthquakes are common and there are an average of 20 typhoons each year, some triggering deadly landslides.
Eric Singson, a congressman in Ilocos Sur province, also in the north, told radio station DZMM that the quake had been felt strongly there and lasted for 30 seconds or more.
“I thought my house was going to fall down,” Singson said. “Now, we’re trying to get to people. … There are aftershocks right now, so we’re out of our house.”
Emergency crews assess damage outside a building that collapsed during the earthquake, in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines, July 27, 2022. Public Information Service-Bureau of Fire Protection /Handout via Reuters
The earthquake damaged heritage buildings in the city of Vigan, known for its old Spanish colonial architecture, on the west coast of Luzon.
Tourist Edison Adducul said on radio that he was taking pictures of the bell tower of the Bantay Church in Vigan when the earthquake struck, shaking the tower for up to three minutes.
Vigan’s normally busy streets were deserted Wednesday evening and shops, hotels and businesses remained closed. Many of the streets had been cleared of debris.
Senator Imee Marcos said several churches were damaged.
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“Ancient bricks and coral stones fell from the bell tower of Bantay,” he said.
The quake was also felt in Manila, where several buildings were evacuated, with some people forced to flee from the 30th floor of one building, and the city’s subway rail systems were brought to a halt at rush hour.
(This was originally reported by Reuter’s Neil Jerome Morales and Karen Lema. Additional reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Writing by Ed Davies: Editing by Michael Perry, Robert Birsel)