Strong earthquake in the Philippines: one dead from landslide and damage to historic buildings

a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.1 shook this Wednesday the northwest of the island of Luzon, north of the Philippines, and caused the death of a person, as well as damage to numerous historic buildings in the region. The emergency service confirmed that the victim was trapped after a building collapsed in Benguet province.

The quake, recorded at 8:43 local time, had its epicenter in a mountainous area of ​​Abra province, and was felt in the capital, Manila, where it surprised residents who had to evacuate some buildings as a precaution.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), which records seismic activity around the world, placed the earthquake at a depth of 10 kilometers and about 12 kilometers east of the city of Dolores, with approximately 32,500 inhabitants.

In Vigan, located about 400 kilometers north of Manila and about 45 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake, the cathedral, which dates back to the 16th century, during the Spanish colonial era, suffered “significant damage” to its facade.

In the same city, recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and the best-preserved Spanish colonial city in the Philippines, other historic buildings and architectural ensembles suffered significant damage after the strong earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.

In videos posted on social networks, stones and rubble can also be seen falling from the Bantay watchtower, in the province of Ilocos Sur, built by the Spaniards in 1590 to spy on pirates and invaders.

The Laoag bell tower, built by the Augustinians in 1612 in this town in the Ilocos Norte province, was destroyed by the earthquake, Senator Imee Marcos said in a message to local media.

The Philippines is often affected by earthquakes due to its location in Pacific “Ring of Fire”an arc of intense seismic activity that extends from Japan to Southeast Asia and the Pacific basin and in which about 7,000 earthquakes are recorded every year, most of which are moderate.

The story of an official: “The ground was shaking like a swing”

Michael Brillantes, security officer of the town of Lagangilang, in Abra, near the epicenter, described the desperate moment in which the natural phenomenon occurred and assured that “the ground was shaking as if on a swing and immediately the light”.

“We rushed out of the office, I heard screams and some of my colleagues were crying,” he recalled. “It was the strongest earthquake I’ve ever felt and I thought the ground would open up”.

Another recent episode of the “Ring of Fire”

In March of this year, Japan activated a tsunami warning after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake occurred off the coasts of Fukushima and Miyagi in the north-east of the country.

The earthquake occurred at 23:36 local time (14:36 ​​GMT), at a depth of 60 kilometers under the sea, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA), which warned of a possible tsunami in the most area. hit.

As reported by the Japanese NHK chain, the earthquake was preceded by another earthquake of lesser intensity, and reached level six on a maximum of seven on the Japanese scale.

With information from EFE, AFP and AP.

IS