- i24news
- International
- Asia & Pacific
- Powerful earthquake hits northern Philippines
Powerful earthquake hits northern Philippines
A 25-year-old construction worker died as the 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the northern Philippines
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the northern Philippines Wednesday, authorities said, killing one person, shattering windows at the epicenter and shaking high-rise towers more than 185 miles away in the capital Manila.
The shallow but powerful quake struck the mountainous and lightly populated province of Abra on the main island of Luzon at 00:43 GMT, the US Geological Survey said.
A 25-year-old construction worker in La Trinidad, the capital of the landlocked province Benguet, died when the three-story building he was working on collapsed, police said. Seven other workers escaped unharmed.
In the municipality of Dolores in Abra, which felt the full force of the quake, terrified people ran outside their homes and shops, and the local market's windows were broken, Police Major Edwin Sergio told AFP.
"The quake was very strong," Sergio said, adding there were small cracks in the police station building.
"Vegetables and fruits sold in the market were also disarranged after tables were toppled."
A video posted on Facebook and verified by AFP showed cracks in the asphalt road and ground in the nearby provincial capital of Bangued, where a number of injured people were taken to hospital, police chief Major Nazareno Emia said.
"Some of the buildings here show cracks. Power was cut off and the internet as well," he added.
Congressman Ching Bernos, who represents the lone district of Abra, said the quake "caused damages to many households and establishments," but did not elaborate.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whose family stronghold is in the north, is expected to visit the affected region as soon as it was safe.
The Philippines is regularly rocked by quakes due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
Wednesday's quake was the strongest recorded in the Philippines in years.