natural disaster
Major earthquake hits northern Philippines
People in Quezon evacuate their office building. photo
© Gerard Carreon/AP/dpa
With a magnitude of at least 7.1, the tremors were felt far beyond the epicenter. In Manila, too, people had to get to safety.
The Philippines were shaken by a violent earthquake on Wednesday morning (local time). According to initial information from the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Philippines (Phivolcs), the quake had a magnitude of 7.3. The US earthquake monitor USGS put the magnitude at 7.1. The epicenter was in the town of Lagangilang in Abra province. The region is located in the north of the island of Luzon, 335 kilometers north of the capital Manila.