Philippines earthquake: 1 dead; tsunami warning lifted

Zeenews Bureau

Manila: A day after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off the Philippines` east coast, thousands of villagers who fled their coastal homes returned home on Saturday. The quake killed one person in a house collapse and knocked out power in several towns and spurring panic about a tsunami that ended up generating only tiny waves. Many villagers are however still in evacuation centres, officials said. The quake hit at a depth of 34.9 kilometres (21.7 miles) and was centred 106 kilometres (66 miles) east of Samar Island, the US Geological Survey said. No large tsunamis were generated by the quake and it caused only minor damage, including cracks on buildings and several bridges, Civil Defence chief Benito Ramos said. Representative Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar province said that one bridge was unpassable because both approaches had collapsed, and that only one lane could be used by vehicles on another bridge because of cracks. Some cracks also appeared on some roads in the provincial capital, Borongan City, and several other towns were still without electricity, he said. About 140 aftershocks had been recorded by early Saturday, including two with a magnitude of 6.4, said Renato Solidum, the chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Panicked residents in Samar`s coastal towns headed for high ground and nearby hills, Ramos said. "Some rested under tall trees they planned to climb if tsunami waves reached them. That was instinct," he said. He said hundreds of "nervous" villages remained in evacuation centres in Eastern Samar but were expected to return home later Saturday. A house collapsed in southern Cagayan de Oro city, on the main southern island of Mindanao, killing a 54-year-old woman and injuring her five-year-old grandson, said the city`s Mayor, Vicente Emano. Neighbours said the woman ran out of the house as the ground shook. She immediately returned home after hearing her grandson`s cries, but was unable to escape when her house collapsed. Solidum said the biggest wave that came ashore on Siargao Island was less than half a meter (20 inches) high. The island is a popular surfing spot, located about 750 kilometres (467 miles) southeast of Manila. The quake snapped some power lines in Tandag City in Surigao del Sur province on the east coast of Mindanao, where recent tsunami drills were held. More than 6,000 city residents who headed for the provincial capitol grounds on a hill were back home on Saturday, disaster officials said. The quake set off car alarms, shook items off shelves and sent many coastal residents fleeing before the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre lifted all tsunami alerts it had issued for the Philippines and neighbouring countries from Indonesia to Japan, and for Pacific islands as far away as the Northern Marianas. The Philippine archipelago is located in the Pacific "Ring of Fire”, where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common. A magnitude-7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people in northern Luzon Island in 1990. (With Agency inputs)