Strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocks northern Philippines

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake has rocked the northern Philippines, the US Geological Service reported, sending panicked residents into the streets and causing substantial damage to a hospital.

The earthquake, which struck at about 10:59pm local time on Tuesday (14:59 GMT) near the upland town of Dolores, was felt as far away as the capital Manila, more than 330km (205 miles) to the south.

Patients were evacuated from the 200-bed Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital in Batac city, about 60km (37 miles) north of the epicentre, which sustained some of the worst reported damage so far.

Notable quake, preliminary info: M 6.5 - 11 km ENE of Dolores, Philippines https://t.co/q9auPOPbUW

— USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) October 25, 2022

Dolores town police officer Jeffrey Blanes said that “buildings were shaking so people ran outside”.

A member of the public in Aparri municipality, located more than 100km (62 miles) from the epicentre, posted on the website of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) that it was the most extensive tremor they had experienced.

“The longest earthquake I’ve ever felt. Thank God we’re safe. Stay safe everyone,” the post read.

Photos of collapsed ceilings in some of the hospital rooms, as well as dozens of patients waiting in chairs on the driveway outside, were posted on the local fire service’s official Facebook page.

“The authorities made us leave the building while they checked the building integrity…. We are currently conducting an assessment of the damage,” hospital worker Tom Tabije told the AFP news agency by phone.

The civil defence office in Abra province, where Dolores is located, said there were no immediate reports of casualties, but the extent of the damage would not be known until morning.

“We are unable to make a thorough assessment of the impact now because it is nighttime and we are also thinking about our people’s safety,” Abra rescuer Joel de Leon told AFP by phone.

Eleven people were killed, and several hundred were injured in July when a 7.0-magnitude quake hit the mountainous Abra province triggering landslides and ground fissures. In October 2013, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the central island of Bohol, killing more than 200 people.

Earthquakes are a daily occurrence in the Philippines, which sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic and volcanic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Source: Aljazeera and news agencies