Philippines Hit By 7.4 Magnitude Quake; Several Killed
Key Facts
- A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck offshore in the southern Philippines Friday, triggering tsunami warnings and forcing coastal evacuations.
- At least two people were killed and several buildings, including a hospital and schools, were damaged
- widespread power outages were reported.
- Christian aid workers told Worthy News they felt “dizzy,” “nervous,” and “traumatized,” recalling last month’s deadly 6.9 quake in northern Cebu that killed at least 74.
- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said rescue and relief teams were being prepared as authorities assessed damage across the Davao region and surrounding islands.
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
MANILA (Worthy News) – Christian aid workers tell Worthy News they “feel dizzy” and “nervous” as a powerful, deadly earthquake of at least magnitude 7.4 struck offshore in the southern Philippines on Friday, with tsunami warnings issued in several countries and people in nearby coastal areas urged to move inland or to higher ground.
At least two people were killed in the quake, which also damaged a hospital and schools and knocked out power, authorities said.
The quake’s epicenter was located about 43 kilometers (27 miles) east of Manay town, in the Davao Oriental area, at a depth of roughly 23 kilometers (14 miles), officials said. Coastal communities in the region were urged to evacuate inland or to higher ground amid fears of destructive waves. The tsunami warnings extended to parts of Indonesia and Palau before being lifted.
Video footage obtained by Worthy News showed the quake impacting construction workers at a high-rise building in the Philippines’ Davao City, while students at a school in the same city of nearly two million people were seen hiding beneath seats.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., facing his latest natural disaster after a previous earthquake and back-to-back storms, said the potential damage was being assessed. He added that rescue teams and relief operations were being prepared and “would be deployed when it was safe to do so.”
RESIDENTS SHOCKED
It came as a shock for residents still coping with the aftermath of a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on September 30 off the coast of northern Cebu province, which killed at least 74 people and injured over 1,000.
“We encounter an earthquake again. I feel dizzy,” said Emely Wagas, a Bible teacher and municipal worker, in a message to Worthy News.
“Even here in Bohol (a province and island outside Davao City), we felt it,” she added. “When it comes to that, I still feel trauma.”
Another Christian aid worker, Merry Joy Osman, told Worthy News: “It’s very alarming here. We run fast downstairs when the office building starts shaking. I have so many headaches. The quake comes as there is flooding in my hometown.”
Osman spoke just weeks after surviving the September 30 quake that struck her area around Cebu City. “We are still without power. I am very nervous,” she added.
The Philippines, a heavily Catholic nation of some 117 million people, sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a vast zone of seismic and volcanic activity where most of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
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