Central Philippines struck by earthquake, 31 dead following recent storm

An offshore earthquake of magnitude 69 collapsed walls of houses and buildings late Tuesday in a central Philippine province killing at least 31 people injuring many others and sending residents scrambling out of homes into darkness as the intense shaking cut off power officials saidThe epicentre of the earthquake which was set off by movement in a local fault at a depth of 5 kilometres was about 19 kilometres northeast of Bogo a coastal city of about 90000 people in Cebu province where at least 14 residents died disastermitigation officer Rex Ygot told The Associated Press by telephoneThe death toll in Bogo was expected to rise Workers were trying to transport a backhoe to hasten search and rescue efforts in a cluster of shanties in a mountain village hit by a landslide and boulders he said Its hard to move in the area because there are hazards Glenn Ursal another disastermitigation officer told The AP adding some survivors were brought to a hospitalAt least 12 residents mostly belonging to small families died when they were hit by falling ceilings and walls of their houses some while sleeping in Medellin town near Bogo Gemma Villamor who heads the towns disastermitigation office told The APIn San Remigio town also near Bogo five people consisting of three coast guard personnel a firefighter and a child were killed separately by collapsing walls while trying to flee to safety from a basketball game that was disrupted by the quake the towns vice mayor Alfie Reynes told the DZMM radio networkReynes appealed for food and water saying San Remigios water system was damaged by the earthquake Aside from houses in Bogo the quake damaged a fire station and concrete and asphalt roads firefighter Rey Canete saidWe were in our barracks to retire for the day when the ground started to shake and we rushed out but stumbled to the ground because of the intense shaking Canete told The AP adding that he and three other firemen sustained cuts and bruises A concrete wall in their fire station collapsed Canete said He and fellow firefighters provided firstaid to at least three residents who were injured by falling debris and collapsed wallsHundreds of terrified residents gathered in the darkness in a grassy field near the fire station and refused to return home hours after the earthquake struck in Bogo Several business establishments visibly sustained damages and the asphalt and concrete roads where they passed had deep cracks Canete said adding that an old Catholic church in Daanbantayan town near Bogo was also damagedCebu Gov Pamela Baricuatro said the extent of the damage and injuries in Bogo and outlying towns in the northern section of the province would not be known until daytime It could be worse than we think he said in a video message posted on Facebook The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology briefly issued a tsunami warning and advised people to stay away from the coastlines in Cebu and in the nearby provinces of Leyte and Biliran due to possible waves of up to 1 meter 3 feetTeresito Bacolcol director of the institute said the tsunami warning was later lifted with no unusual waves being monitored Cebu and other provinces were still recovering from a storm that battered the central region on Friday leaving at least 27 people dead mostly due to drownings and falling trees knocking out power in entire cities and towns and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of peopleThe Philippines one of the worlds most disasterprone countries is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire an arc of seismic faults around the ocean The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms each yearThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever