Strong quake in southern Philippines kills one, injures several - UPDATED

  15 December 2019    Read: 1899
Strong quake in southern Philippines kills one, injures several - UPDATED

A strong earthquake struck near the Philippine city of Davao on Sunday, killing a child, damaging buildings and causing several injuries, officials said, the latest in a series of tremors to strike the southern part of the country in recent months, AzVision.az reports citing Reuters. 

The magnitude 6.8 quake was centered 61 km (38 miles) southwest of Davao on the island of Mindanao, at a depth of 28.2 km, the U.S. Geological Survey said, revising down the magnitude from an earlier 6.9.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat from the quake, based on available data.

Vincent Fernandez, the mayor of Matanao town in Davao del Sur province, near the epicenter, told Radio DZMM that a six-year-old girl had died after a wall collapsed on her.

Fernandez said the extent of the damage was not yet clear but authorities needed food, water and tarpaulins and blankets to help residents.

Anthony Allada, public information officer of nearby Magsaysay Town, said 14 people were injured but none seriously. Roads and buildings, including the local government office, were damaged and power was out in the town, he said.

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A powerful earthquake struck near the Philippines city of Davao on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, the latest tremor to strike the southern part of the country in recent months, but there was no threat of a tsunami, AzVision.az reports citing Reuters.

The magnitude 6.8 quake was centered 61 km (38 miles) southwest of Davao on the island of Mindanao, at a depth of 28.2 km, the USGS said, revising down the magnitude from an earlier 6.9.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat from the quake, based on available data.

There were no immediate reports of damage, but quakes of such magnitude can damage buildings.

The same region was shaken by three quakes in October and one in November, one which killed at least five people.

Video footage posted on Twitter by users to portray the impact of the quake showed overhead electrical wires swaying and erupting in a shower of sparks. Another video showed water sloshing out of a residential swimming pool. Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.

The Philippines sits on the geologically active Pacific “Ring of Fire” and experiences frequent tremors.


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