Natural disaster
Philippines: Pregnant woman dies in severe earthquake
A strong earthquake occurred off the coast of the Philippine island of Mindanao. photo
© Ivy Marie Mangadlao/AP
A powerful earthquake has shaken the second largest island in the Philippines. Initial warnings of a possible “destructive tsunami” and hundreds of aftershocks caused terror in the region.
In the event of a strong earthquake in the south of the A pregnant woman has died in the Philippines. Four more people were injured when the earth shook off the coast of Mindanao island at 10:37 p.m. local time on Saturday evening, Defense Minister Gilbert Teodoro said. According to police, the woman died in the rubble of a collapsed house in Davao Del Norte province.
People in the southern Philippines remained worried on Sunday because of hundreds of aftershocks. The aftershocks could last for days or even weeks, said Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Philippines (Phivolcs) director Teresito Bacolcol. More than 500 aftershocks had already been measured by Sunday. One reached a magnitude of 6.0 in the evening, the institute announced. There were initially no reports of victims or damage.
The US Earthquake Observatory USGS reported the first quake on Saturday evening as having a magnitude of 7.6. According to Phivolcs, the quake had a magnitude of 7.4. Deviations in measurements are not uncommon. The earthquake occurred off the coast of Surigao Del Sur province in the east of the island of Mindanao – over 900 kilometers south of the capital Manila.
All clear for tsunami
Phivolcs had initially warned of a possible “destructive tsunami with life-threatening wave heights”. Residents had been asked to move to higher ground or inland. On Sunday night, the institute gave the all-clear. It eventually reported waves of less than one meter in coastal regions.
Authorities said two bridges were damaged. Most of the power has been restored after outages. Damaged buildings could be seen in footage posted on social media. Videos showed people running in panic from a mall in Davao City, while other footage showed people screaming among shaking tables and chairs at a bar.
The island state lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most geologically active zone on earth. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes often occur there. In 1990, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake caused severe devastation on the island of Luzon. More than 2,400 people died at that time.