Deaths reported as 6.3 magnitude quake hits southern Philippines

[TomCat]

The death toll has risen to five with dozens more reported injured on Thursday after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook the southern Philippines, causing landslides and a fire at a shopping mall, authorities said.

The strong quake rattled North Cotabato and nearby provinces when it struck at around 7:30pm (11:30 GMT) on Wednesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Around 5am Thursday, another 5.3-magnitude earthquake hit Davao Oriental province.
The seismic agency said it was not an aftershock and so far no damage has been reported.

Philippines prepares for earthquake it labels 'The Big One'

Wednesday night's earthquake forced people to flee malls and buildings, and hospital patients were evacuated into the streets.
In Magsaysay town in Davao del Sur, where most of the houses were damaged, a two-year-old girl died after being struck by falling objects in her sleep, Magsaysay information officer Anthony Allada said.
Allada added that a mother and child died when their house was buried in an earthquake-triggered landslide.
A local official said that a seven-year-old girl from Datu Paglas town in Maguindanao was killed when a wall collapsed.
And in M'lang town in Cotobato, a man suffered a heart attack as a result of the shock and was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
A fire broke out at a mall in General Santos City right after the quake gutted three floors, but shoppers and employees managed to escape the blaze, the civil defence office said.
The Philippines is one of the world's most disaster-prone countries, with frequent typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic activity. It lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the arc of faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's seismic activity occurs.
A magnitude 7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people in the northern Philippines in 1990.

 

[Khafee]

Five dead, dozens injured after strong earthquake rocks Philippines
Oct. 17, 2019
By Darryl Coote

At least five people were killed in southern Philippines after an earthquake struck Wednesday. Photo by AJ Resane/EPA-EFE

Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The death toll climbed to five Thursday after a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Philippines, damaging buildings and threatening landslides, officials.

The temblor struck about 13 miles east of Tulunan in North Cotabato province after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at a depth of 5 miles, the Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

Tulunan, North Cotabato and M'lang municipalities and Kidapawan City felt the earthquake at a 7 Intensity, which the Philippines seismology institute, also known as Phivolcs, describes as "destructive" on its 10-degree scale.

Hundreds of aftershocks have rippled through the region, continuing into Thursday afternoon with some registering as high as magnitude 5.3.

At least 27 people were injured and 5 were killed by the earthquake, including a 5-year-old boy who died when his house collapsed on top of him in Magsaysay, Davao Del Sur, said Anthony Allada of the local government public information office.

A child and a woman were also found dead in the Davao Del Sur area, he said. Davao Del Sur experienced an Intensity 6, meaning "very strong," during the temblor.

A 7-year-old girl from North Cotabato died when a wall collapsed, Mayor Reuel Limbungan said. And a man from M'lang died of a heart attack, said M'lang Vice Mayor Joselito Pinol.

The Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said 29 buildings were damaged including schools and two hospitals.

It also said all classes in the city were suspended for Thursday and building faculty were to inspect the facilities.

"If they find building defects that are dangerous and need repair, they should immediately condemn the area and not allow students to use the same," Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said a Facebook statement.

Classes were also canceled in Diapawan City, the city said.

The Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office was also attempting to thwart false information spreading online concerning an incoming tsunami, reminding people that those spreading such warnings could face up to six months in prison.