Quake claims four lives in Philippines

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Four people died due to the landslide and building damage caused by quake in the southern Philippines on Wednesday.

A child also died in the magnitude 6.4 quake after a building collapsed in the town of Datu Paglas in which he was present. Four residents of a nearby locality also lost died when two houses fell down.

Tulunan mayor, Reuel Limbungan, said that the child was pronounced dead where he was taken. A senior citizen was rushed to a hospital after he suffered injuries after being struck by a falling object. Several people got injured in the city of Kidapawan also due to the falling debris.

The three-storey Gaisano shopping mall was also set on the fire because of the quake. A disaster response officer said that a school building in the downtown area of Digos City in Davao del Sur Province also suffered extensive damage. However, no person was found trapped inside the building.

Residents came out of their houses and shopping malls soon after the tremor hit their places.

The quake was centred around 7.7 km from the city of Columbia on Mindanao Island. It hit around 7.37 pm. It was followed by two aftershocks, as per the United States Geological Survey.

Houses collapsed, a shopping mall was on fire and power was knocked out due to the quake.

Authorities have said that no immediate reports of deaths elsewhere have been reported.

The chief Philippine government seismologist Renato Solidum has asked people to look for the damages the quake has caused to their houses.

He refuted risk of tsunami saying that the quake occurred inland.

The Philippines comes in the zone of Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of intense seismic activity, due to which it is quake-prone.

Earlier in 1990, around 2000 people were died due to a Magnitude 7.7 quake.

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