The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) traced the epicenter to near the town of Matanao in the populated province of Davao del Sur on Mindanao island, 6 km (3.7 miles) from the town of Padada, which bore the brunt of the quake.

“A 6-year-old girl died after a wall collapsed on her,” Matanao Mayor Vincent Fernadez told local media.

The state-run Philippine Information Agency said several shoppers and employees were inside the three-story Southern Trade grocery store in the town of Padada when the quake struck and the building “completely collapsed.”

A provincial police commander, Alberto Lupaz, said at least 62 people were injured in the hardest-hit regions, adding some people appear to be trapped under the market where rescue efforts have been delayed, the Associated Press reported.

“They (rescuers) were attempting to check the rubble … the aftershocks were too strong,” Lupaz said.

Spokesman Salvador Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte is monitoring the aftermath and all relevant agencies “have been mobilized to provide immediate assistance to those in need.

“The office of the president, meanwhile, requests everyone remain calm but stay vigilant in anticipation of aftershocks,” Panelo said in a statement.

Panelo said Duterte was at his home in Davao with his youngest daughter, Kitty when the quake struck.

“The first lady Honeylet Avanceña was on her way home when the ground rumbled and trembled,” Panelo said. “She said the car she was riding was swaying. They were unhurt.”

The quake was the third to hit the south since October. Two quakes measuring 6.6 and 6.5 struck the town of Tulunan within days of each other, killing 22 people.

The Philippines sits on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, where earthquakes are frequent, some of which are devastating. In July 1990, a 7.7-magnitude temblor struck the main Luzon island, killing more than 1,600 people, many of them trapped inside a hotel that crumbled in the northern town of Baguio.

Source: https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/deadly-69-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-southern-philippines

The post Deadly 6.9 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Southern Philippines first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The 6.5-magnitude quake struck at around 9 am in Mindanao, an island the size of South Korea. Pictures and videos on social media showed parts of a hotel and a condominium caving in, patients being wheeled out of a hospital, and rescuers digging through the rubble.

A village elder died in Makilala town in Cotabato province when a two-story building he was in collapsed. Cotabato Governor Emmylou Talino-Mendoza said four other people died elsewhere in the town – a seven-year-old was crushed by a cinder block while the rest were caught in a landslide.

In Kidapawan City, Cotabato, one side of a hotel was left-leaning on a hospital. The hotel had been damaged in earlier quakes and did not have guests. Six employees and an engineer inspecting the building managed to run out said city mayor Joseph Evangelista.

A five-story condominium in Davao City crashed. Nine residents were saved but others could still be trapped inside, said police.

President Rodrigo Duterte was in his home city of Davao when the quake struck. Photos of cracks on his bedroom walls were sent by his aide Christopher Go to reporters. “He’s safe,” said Mr. Go. The President was in Davao for a public holiday to remember the dead.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake was set off by movement in a local fault at a depth of 6km, about 28km east of Tulunan town in Cotabato.

Mindanao was hit by two quakes last month: a 6.6-magnitude quake on Oct 29, and a 6.3-magnitude quake on Oct 16. Citing “inter-related active faults” in Mindanao, Phivolcs said: “We expect small to moderate-magnitude earthquakes to occur in the epicentral area which may continue for several days to weeks.”

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 01, 2019, with the headline ‘At least 5 dead as another quake jolts the southern Philippines’. Print Edition | Subscribe

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/at-least-5-dead-as-another-quake-jolts-southern-philippines

The post At least 5 dead as another quake jolts southern Philippines first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.