Philippines Reeling From Deadly Earthquakes

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MANILA (Worthy News) – The Philippines experienced aftershocks Wednesday of powerful earthquakes that impacted the capital, Manila, and other areas of the Asian nation, killing at least three people.

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook Manila on Tuesday, authorities said, sending people rushing out of buildings, including the Senate.

The Transport Department also halted operations of all trains in the elevated rail system in Manila amid concerns of more tremors.

The strong quake struck off the Philippines’ main island of Luzon at 4:23 pm local time at a depth of 77 kilometers (48 miles), about 94 kilometers (58 miles) southwest of Manila, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

“We felt the strong and lengthy tremor,” Michael Orayani, mayor of Lubang town in Occidental Mindoro province, told DWPM radio station. “We rushed outdoors even while the building was shaking.”

Images shared by media showed government workers leaving Congress, the Senate, the presidential palace, and justice ministry buildings. Students also evacuated universities.

The transportation ministry stopped train operations in the capital. No damage was observed on the runway and taxiway pavements and terminal facilities, the state airport operator said.

EUROPEAN SEISMOLOGICAL CENTER

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre had recorded the quake at magnitude 6.2 before downgrading to 6.0.

Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which lies on the “Ring of Fire,” a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean prone to seismic activity.

Three people died, and many more were injured from a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the southern Philippines on Saturday night. It was followed by over 2,000 aftershocks that prompted thousands to stay in evacuation centers.

A separate magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Mindanao, the country’s second-largest island, early Monday morning. Christians told Worthy News to pray as other disasters, such as typhoons, also hit the nation. “My parents are affected. They have encountered the aftershock of the first massive magnitude 7.6 quake. But they [survived] and are all fine now,” Merry-Joy Osman, a Christian aid worker, told Worthy News.

But she added that her family has been losing pigs on which they rely for income

And the recent series of tremors has heightened concerns, forcing residents to remain vigilant in evacuation centers due to the ongoing threat of aftershocks.

“We get dizzy from tremors every so often. We choose to stay here at the evacuation center for now,” said Susan Clor, a resident of Hinatuan town in Surigao del Sur province.

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