A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of the southern Philippines early Monday; the United States Geological Survey said the latest in a slew of solid quakes were all concentrated in the same area. It hit just before 4:00 am local time (2000 GMT Sunday) at a depth of 30 kilometers (18 miles), some 72 kilometers northeast of Hinatuan municipality on Mindanao island. The USGS did not issue a tsunami threat, but authorities warned residents to be alert and watch for aftershocks.
According to radio reports, the quake caused significant damage in the general vicinity, including cracked walls and toppled computers. The tremors were strong enough to make people at an airport in General Santos City run out of the building onto the tarmac. People in nearby Koronadal were also evacuated from their homes to the outskirts of town and told to stay outside, as the walls could collapse. “The quake was the strongest I have ever experienced,” a listener of the local DZRH radio station told AFP, adding that he was worried the roof of his house would collapse.
In Bislig City in Surigao del Sur province, a 30-year-old man died when a wall inside his house collapsed on top of him, local disaster official Pacifica Pedraverde said. Another person died in a hospital in Tagum City, Davao del Norte province, from falling debris, she added.
The earthquake struck just days after a magnitude 7.6 quake struck off the southern Philippines, killing nine and shaking buildings. It was the strongest temblor to rock the country in over three decades, causing the collapse of part of a shopping mall ceiling.
Philippine Seismology Institute issued a tsunami warning after Saturday’s earthquake but lifted it because no life-threatening waves were observed. Tsunami warnings were also briefly issued in Japan’s eastern Pacific archipelago and Palau, a western Pacific island chain.
The Philippines lies on the “Ring of Fire,” a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean, and is prone to seismic activity. The country is among the most active quake-prone areas worldwide and has suffered devastating temblors. In 1990, a 9.1-magnitude quake shook the main island of Luzon and killed more than 1,600 people, leaving many trapped in buildings that crumbled. More than a million others were left homeless by the temblors, which also injured thousands of other people. On average, the Philippines experiences more than 300 tremors each year. The largest temblor recorded in the country was in 1907. It registered 10.6-magnitude and lasted more than five minutes, leaving more than 170,000 people dead and destroying hundreds of villages. Thousands of aftershocks followed the quake. To cut down on casualties, the government has mandated that all new buildings must be reinforced to withstand earthquakes. It is also upgrading the existing infrastructure to withstand more powerful temblors. The government also has set up a hotline for citizens to report possible earthquake damages.
