Hundreds of aftershocks from Wednesday’s powerful earthquake rattled the northern Philippines overnight, prompting distraught residents to sleep outside, several reported Thursday, as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr visited the region.
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake rattled the northern province of Abra on Wednesday morning, killing at least five people and injuring more than 150. The powerful quake toppled buildings and triggered landslides, even shaking buildings to the ground. capital, Manila, 300 kilometers away.
“The aftershocks have been happening almost every 15 to 20 minutes since yesterday,” said Reggi Tolentino, a restaurant owner in Bangued, the regional capital. “Many slept outside last night, almost every family,” he added.
An arc of intense seismic activity
A total of 460 buildings in the province were affected, including the historic Bantay bell tower, a popular tourist attraction, which partially collapsed, provincial governor Jeremias Singson told Teleradyo.
“Our tourism industry and small business owners have been really affected,” he said.
The Philippines is regularly hit by earthquakes due to its position on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity that circles the Pacific Ocean through Japan and Southeast Asia. Wednesday’s earthquake is the most powerful in this country for several years.
Source: BFM TV
