Dozens hurt as quake rattles Surigao del Sur

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines — Twenty-five people were injured and several homes, churches and other buildings were damaged after an earthquake hit parts of Surigao del Sur early yesterday.

The quake, which measured magnitude 5.5 according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), struck towns located along the northeast coast of Mindanao at 4:42 a.m. at a depth of five kilometers.

The epicenter was traced to Carrascal town in Surigao del Sur where the quake was felt at Intensity 6, Phivolcs said.

Phivolcs reported seven less intense aftershocks.

Most of the damage was reported in the town of Madrid near the epicenter, where residents claimed objects were seen flying when the strong earthquake struck.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Director Ricardo Jalad said most of the injured came from the towns of Lanuza, Carmen, Madrid and Cantilan.

“Out of the 25 injured at Madrid District Hospital, three were referred to a hospital in Tandag City,” Jalad said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) in a bulletin issued at 2 p.m. yesterday also stated at least 25 people were reported injured in the towns of Lanuza, Carmen, Madrid and Cantilan.

Policemen at the Madrid police station ducked under tables as the glass door of a cabinet splintered and a television set fell and shattered a table, said police chief Lt. Wilson Uanite.

“We saw people running out of their homes. A number of residences sustained minor damage like cracked walls,” Uanite said.

Patients were also evacuated at the Madrid District Hospital, which sustained cracks on its concrete walls, he added.

The roof of an old carpark in Madrid collapsed, causing slight damage to the town’s two fire trucks and three cars, Uanite said.

The impact was also felt in four neighboring towns, damaging homes, two Catholic churches, a hotel, a gym, a bridge and a public market, OCD regional director Liza Mazo reported.

Mazo cited the report of Surigao del Sur’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) saying the walls of Agsam Catholic church in the town of Lanuza was damaged, and the ceiling and roof of the parish church in the town of Carmen had collapsed.

The municipal hall and the public market in Carmen also sustained cracks.

Old and new public and private buildings, bridges, business establishments and houses in the towns of Lanuza, Carmen, Madrid and Cantilan were also damaged.

The tremor caused power outages in the towns of Carrascal, Cantilan, Madrid, Carmen and Lanuza.

Phivolcs regional director Allan Rommel Labayog said the tremor was felt at Intensity 5 in Carrascal and Butuan City, Agusan del Norte; Intensity 4 in Surigao City and Tandag City, Surigao del Sur, and Gingoog City and Magsaysay in Misamis Oriental and in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur.

Intensity 3 was felt in Cagwait, Surigao del Sur; Socorro, Surigao del Norte; Balingoan, Salay, Balingasag, Jasaan and Villanueva, Misamis Oriental; Pintuyan, San Francisco, and San Ricardo, Southern Leyte; and Cagayan de Oro City, while Intensity 2 was felt in Mambajao, Camiguin Island. – With AP, Edith Regalado, Roel Pareño, Jaime Laude, Elizabeth Marcelo