By Jim Gomez
A strong earthquake in the central Philippines
killed at least 13 people Monday as it destroyed buildings and triggered
landslides that buried dozens of houses, trapping residents. At least 29 people
were missing.
The 6.8-magnitude quake, in a narrow strait just off Negros Island,
caused a landslide in Guihulngan, a city of about 180,000 people in Negros
Oriental province. As many as 30 houses were buried and at least 29 people were
missing, Mayor Ernesto Reyes said.
"Their situation is bad because if you are covered by
landslide for one hour, two hours, how can you breathe?" he said.
"But we just hope for the best, that there are still survivors."
Rescuers were using picks and shovels to dig for survivors,
he said.
At least 10 people were confirmed dead, including students
at a college and an elementary school and others in a town market that
collapsed, Reyes said. About 100 were injured.
The quake, which hit at 11:49am (3:49am GMT), triggered another landslide in the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, also in Negros Oriental. An unknown number of people were trapped, said La Libertad police chief inspector Eric Arrol Besario.
"We're now getting shovels and chain saws to start a rescue because there were people trapped inside. Some of them were yelling for help earlier," Besario told The Associated Press by phone. Three key bridges in the town suffered cracks and were no longer passable, he said.
Philippine seismologists briefly issued a tsunami alert for the central islands. Five bamboo and wooden cottages were washed out from a beach resort in La Libertad by huge waves, but there were no reports of injuries, said police Superintendent Ernesto Tagle. Elsewhere along the coast, people rushed out of schools, malls and offices.
The epicentre was closest to Tayasan, a coastal town of about 32,000 people flanked by mountains in Negros Oriental province. A child there died when a concrete fence of a house collapsed, said Benito Ramos, head of the Office of Civil Defence.
"So far one dead, but we could not yet account for the damage to buildings," Tayasan police officer Alfred Vicente Silvosa told The AP by phone. He said there were still aftershocks "so we are outside, at the town plaza. We cannot inspect buildings yet because it's dangerous."
"I felt the building shaking, so I rushed out of the building. Our computers, shelves, plates, the cupboards, water dispenser all fell," he said.
A three-story office building also collapsed in La Libertad, but occupants managed to run out.
Negros Oriental police chief Edward Carranza said the temblor damaged many houses in Guihulngan and he ordered his men to help displaced residents find shelter.
Officials in some areas suspended work and cancelled classes. Power and telecommunications were knocked out in several places.
Carranza said police rushed out of his building when the quake struck. "All my personnel ran out fearing our building would collapse," he said.
"Now it's shaking again," he said as an aftershock hit. "My keychain is dancing."
The US Geological Survey said the quake was centred 72 kilometres north of Dumaguete city on Negros and hit at a depth of 46 kilometres. The area is about 650 kilometres southeast of the capital, Manila.
President Benigno Aquino III's spokesman said authorities did not force people to evacuate but implored those along the shore to be vigilant. The coast guard grounded all vessels while the tsunami alert was in effect.
A mall in San Carlos city in neighbouring Negros Occidental province was damaged when its windows were shattered by the shaking, said Ramos, the civil defence leader. The quake was also felt in Cebu, where it lasted about 30 seconds.
The Philippines is located in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common. A 7.7-magnitude quake killed nearly 2,000 people in Luzon in 1990.
AP