A strong earthquake struck the northern Philippines on Wednesday morning, killing at least one person, shaking buildings and causing several to collapse, officials said.
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the magnitude 7.0 quake struck at 8:43 at a depth of 10 km, or 6 miles. The epicenter was in the northwest of Luzon, the country’s most populous island.
“This is a big earthquake,” Renato U. Solidum, head of the institute, said in an interview with a local radio station. He added that it was felt with “relatively moderate intensity” hundreds of miles away in the capital, Manila.
One man, a construction worker, was killed by falling debris, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.
There were no other immediate reports of casualties, and the disaster risk agency said no damage had been reported at hydroelectric dams in the affected area. In Manila, light train service was briefly suspended at several stations.
But officials released photos from Abra province, where the quake struck, showing damaged buildings, some partially collapsed.
Other official photos from the city of Baguio, in nearby Benguet province, show patients sheltering in hospital grounds after being evacuated. One person in a wheelchair, attended by medical staff.
Joy Bernos, deputy governor of Abra province, said in a radio broadcast Wednesday morning that residents there still experience aftershocks about every 15 minutes. Initial reports suggest several bridges have collapsed, she added.
“Once everything stabilizes, we will start checking around the area,” she said.
Trixia Angeles, press secretary to the new president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.Mr. Marcos said he will go to the earthquake area as soon as it is safe.
The Institute of Seismology initially reported that the quake had a magnitude of 7.3, but later downgraded its estimate. The institute said there was no risk of a tsunami because the fault was inland.
The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, lies along the so-called Ring of Fire, an area where tectonic plates sometimes grind against each other to cause deadly earthquakes.
Two earthquakes in central Philippines, one each kill nearly 100 people in 2012 and 2013. Two years ago, an earthquake west of Manila causing at least 11 deaths.
The Philippine Sea tectonic plate has produced 7 earthquakes with magnitudes of at least 8.0 and another 250 earthquakes greater than 7.0. according to the United States Geological Survey.
This is an evolving story.
Jason Gutierrez reported from Manila, and Mike Ives from Seoul. Camille Elemia contributed reporting from Manila.
