From the
Inquirer.
DUMAGUETE CITY—At least 52 people were killed when a 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Negros and Cebu provinces shortly before noon Monday, causing landslides and huge cracks on highways, and violently shaking buildings, officials said.
A three-story building collapsed, while seven bridges were rendered impassable, they said.
In Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, at least 29 people were feared dead following a landslide in Barangay (village) Planas, Mayor Ernesto Reyes said in a phone interview. He said there could be more fatalities in other barangays.
“They were buried in 30 feet (10 meters) of soil. If you had been buried from noon until now (6 p.m.), I don’t expect you to be alive,” Reyes said.
Rescuers dug with picks and shovels trying to reach dozens of people trapped under houses that collapsed, according to The Associated Press (AP).
Ten others died due to a landslide at the Guihulngan national road, Reyes said.
Governor Roel Degamo said a 9-year-old girl, Bernadette Raidan, died when a wall collapsed in Tayasan town.
Twelve other fatalities were listed by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Eight were from Guihulngan, one each from Jimalalud and Bindoy towns, and two from Tayasan.
The earthquake, which struck at 11:49 a.m., was located 5 kilometers northwest of Tayasan town in Negros Oriental, and was tectonic in origin. It had a depth of 10 km. The US Geological Survey placed the magnitude at 6.7.
In Manila, Malacañang urged the people affected by the earthquake to remain watchful and calm, and to cooperate with the authorities “while the threat of immediate dangers appears to have passed.”
President Benigno Aquino III ordered the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to assess and collate the extent of the damage and casualties, and to provide the necessary interventions, his spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, said in a statement.
Tsunami warning
The temblor also prompted a tsunami warning from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), alerting residents near the coastal areas of Negros and Cebu to watch for unusual waves but not requiring any evacuation.
The alert was canceled after no further reports of unusual sea level changes were received after the two-hour extended observation period.
But more aftershocks could be expected in the next few weeks in areas near the epicenter, according to Ishmael Narag, officer in charge of the Phivolcs’ seismology division. As of 1 p.m. Monday, Phivolcs had recorded 16 aftershocks.
The quake triggered another landslide in the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, also in Negros Oriental. An unknown number of people were trapped, said Inspector Eric Arrol Besario, the town police chief.
“We’re now getting shovels and chainsaws to start a rescue because there were people trapped inside. Some of them were yelling for help earlier,” Besario told AP by phone. Three key bridges in the town cracked and were no longer passable, he said.
The earthquake sent shoppers scrambling under tables and workers and students rushing out of their buildings in cities of Negros and Cebu.
Classes in all public and private schools in Negros Oriental were suspended, while businesses in Dumaguete City were closed.
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