Large earthquake hits Philippines’s Luzon island, rattling Manila | Earthquakes News
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
Shallow quake was measured at above 7 magnitude and shattered windows at the epicentre in Abra province.
An earthquake has hit the northern Philippines, shattering windows at its epicentre and causing high-rise towers to shake more than 300km (185 miles) away in the capital Manila.
The quake, which struck the mountainous province of Abra on the main island of Luzon at 8:43am local time (00:43 GMT), was measured at a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 by the US Geological Survey (USGS), 7.2 by the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) and 7.3 by the Philippine authorities.
USGS said the earthquake’s epicentre was about 11km (7 miles) east-southeast of the town of Dolores.
People in the town ran outside, and windows in the local market were shattered, Police Major Edwin Sergio told the AFP news agency.
“The quake was very strong,” Sergio said, adding there were minor cracks in the police station building.
“The earthquake lasted 30 seconds or more. I thought my house would fall,” Eric Singson, a congressman in the northern Ilocos Sur province, told DZMM radio.
“Now, we are trying to reach people. … Right now there are aftershocks so we are outside our home,” he added.
LOOK | Photos from Vigan, Ilocos Sur shows ancestral homes and properties damaged by the 7.3 magnitude #EarthquakePH.
KEEP SAFE KAKAILIAN! pic.twitter.com/DjmLsbQP1G
— Binnadang Amianan (@AgbinnadangTayo) July 27, 2022
So far, no casualties have been reported.
In Manila, service on the city’s metro rail systems was suspended after the earthquake, while the Senate building was also evacuated
The Philippines is located on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
