Quake kills 1, damages 7 houses in Oro
-A A +AFriday, August 31, 2012
CEBU CITY (5th Update) -- A woman was killed, while seven houses were damaged in flashfloods and landslide that hit Cagayan de Oro following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that shook some parts of the country Friday evening.
Cagayan de Oro Mayor Vicente Emano said the woman died after her house was hit by a flashflood triggered by the quake. The woman’s child was injured and is now recovering in a hospital in the city.
The victims were living near a river in Barangay Tablon, where a landslide also occurred after the tremor. At least seven houses were damaged, said Emano in television and radio interviews.
Damages due to the 7.7-magnitude earthquake were also reported in Surigao, Southern Leyte, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar. Residents living in coastal villages in these provinces were also evacuated Friday evening due to tsunami warning earlier raised by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Emano said, however, that the tsunami warning in Cagayan de Oro City was lifted around 10 p.m. Friday.
In Southern Leyte, Governor Damian Mercado said that he told all town mayors in the province to evacuate all families living in coastal areas.
Local officials in Northern Samar were also told to assess the situation in their respective areas.
Northern Samar Governor Paul Daza said in television and radio interviews that evacuation of families living in coastal areas, particularly those facing the Pacific Ocean, is ongoing.
He said damages on road networks were reported in Catarman, the capital of Northern Samar. Cracks on bridges were also reported.
Aside from the damages, blackout was reported in Borongan City in Eastern Samar, as well as in Tacloban City in Leyte.
The government is still assessing the situation in other areas in the country that were hit by the strong quake as of this posting Friday.
President Benigno Aquino III ordered Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, who is the concurrent chairman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, to coordinate with Phivolcs to ensure smooth evacuation of families affected by the earthquake.
The tremor, according to Phivolcs, occurred 94 kilometers (km) east of Sulangan, Eastern Samar at 8:47 p.m.
It was also located at 106 km east southeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar; 161 km east southeast of Borongan, also in Eastern Samar; and 174 km northeast of Surigao, said the US Geological Survey.
Intensity 7 was felt in Guian, Oras, Sulat, Borongan City, all in Eastern Samar, while intensity 6 was felt in Siargao, Surigao del Norte; Tacloban; Palo, Leyte; and St. Bernard, Southern Leyte.
Intensity 5 was felt in Mati City, Compostela, Legaspi City, Iloilo City, Bislig City, and Iligan City; Intensity 4 in Butuan City, Catbalogan City, and Cagayan de Oro City; Intensity 3 in Cotabato City, Mambajao in Camiguin, and General Santos City; and intensity 2 in Marawi City and Sipalay City.
Tsunami warning was issued following the earthquake, particularly in Eastern Samar, Surigao del Norte, Northern Samar, Southern Leyte, Surigao and Bicol.
The U.S. Geological Survey also issued the tsunami warning in Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan and Guam. (Sunnex)
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