Powerful Earthquake Hits Northern Philippines

MANILA, KOMPAS.com - A 7.0-magnitude earthquake killed at least five people in the northern Philippines Wednesday, July 27, toppling buildings and shaking high-rise towers more than 300 kilometers (185 miles) away in the capital Manila.

The shallow and powerful quake struck the mountainous and lightly populated province of Abra on the main island of Luzon at 8:43 am local time, the US Geological Survey said.

Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones. This one left more than a hundred people injured across the hilly region, triggered dozens of landslides, damaged buildings, and knocked out power.

“We felt really strong shaking. We started shouting and rushed outside,” said university student Mira Zapata in the San Juan municipality of Abra, which took the full force of the quake.

“Our house is OK but houses down the hill were damaged.”

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As buildings shook and walls cracked in the municipality of Dolores, people ran outside, Police Major Edwin Sergio told AFP.

“The quake was very strong,” Sergio said, adding that the windows of the local market were broken.

In Bangued, the provincial capital of Abra, a 23-year-old woman was killed after a wall fell on her, police said. At least 78 were injured in the province.

A video posted on Facebook and verified by AFP showed cracks in the asphalt road and ground in Bangued.

“Some of the buildings here show cracks,” police chief Major Nazareno Emia added. “Power was cut off and internet as well.”

Two construction workers in the nearby landlocked province of Benguet died in separate incidents, police said.

Another person was killed when boulders smashed into the building site where he was working in Kalinga province, police said. Six other workers were injured.

Police said an elderly woman in Suyo municipality in Ilocos Sur province suffered fatal injuries after she was buried by a landslide while out walking.

In Vigan City, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Ilocos Sur, centuries-old structures built during the Spanish colonial period were damaged, police said.