MANILA: Five people were killed when at least two buildings collapsed as a result of the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that rocked Luzon, Singapore Straits Times reported, citing international news agencies Agence France Presse, Reuters and Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
The report said three bodies have been pulled out of a collapsed building in the town of Porac, while an old woman and her grandchild were crushed to death by another building in the town of Lubao, the report said citing provincial governor Lilia Pineda.
“The quake has caused a blackout,” Pineda was quoted as saying, even as she added that nightfall is hampering rescue efforts.
The quake’s epicentre was in Castillejos town in Zambales province, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Cracks and rockfalls were reported along an expressway in the region, while a church and some houses made from light material collapsed.
“According to reports, electric posts and a portion of an old church in Porac (town in nearby Pampanga province) collapsed,” said Pineda.
“It was really very strong,” Pineda told Manila radio station DZMM. “We could hardly walk out of the room.”
Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said no tsunami warning was expected, but urged the public to be on alert for aftershocks.
The last major quake to hit the country was a 7.1-magnitude tremor that killed more than 220 people in the central Philippines in October 2013.
In July 1990, more than 2,400 people were killed on the northern island of Luzon in a magnitude-7.8 quake, one of the strongest tremors ever to hit the country. (REUTERS photo)
FEU students gather at the quadrangle in response to the earthquake. Hope everybody knows what to do before and during an earthquake. Check out our previous post for helpful graphics from Manila Bulletin.
?: @azcheeese pic.twitter.com/gFhgLxVPwz
— @OneFEU (@OneFEU) April 22, 2019
