BREAKING NEWS! 4 dead, over 90 others wounded, as 6.7 magnitude quake shuts down Surigao

Provided by InterAksyon

MANILA, Philippines (Updated!) - At least four people died and more than 90 others others were wounded, 13 seriously, when a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Surigao City late Friday, damaging the airport and knocking power in two towns, the provincial governor said.

Gov. Sol Matugas said engineering teams were scrambling to fix alternative routes as three bridges were also damaged, and worried that the province had been cut off by the damage to the airport runway, which forced its closure to commercial planes.

Two flights from Manila head for Surigao and back daily, by Cebu Pacific and PAL Express.
Matugas confirmed only helicopters can land at Surigao airport.

The provincial capitol was partly damaged, with a portion of the ceiling collapsed.

Four people were dead on arrival in hospital, and 81 rushed to emergency rooms, of whom 13 were admitted for serious injuries, Matugas told DZMM.

No missing persons were reported, she added. A few people are in evacuation centers, and some opted to seek shelter in other homes in other places.

Matugas appealed for help in fixing the airport, "because that's our lifeline" to getting help from the national government and private parties wishing to help.

Three bridges were cut in Surigao del Norte province and these are lifelines to northern towns; hence, city engineers were moving quickly to provide detours.

The earthquake happened at exactly 10:03 p.m. Friday, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

The epicenter of the quake of tectonic origin was located at coordinates 9.83 degrees north latitude and 125.37 dgrees east longitude or 14 kilometers north of Surigao City and at a depth of 4 kilometers.

It was felt at Intensity VI in Surigao City and Pintuyan, Southern Leyte; Intensity V in Mandaue City, San Ricardo, Limasawa and San Francisco, Southern Leyte; Intensity IV in Hinunangan, Southern Leyte and Butuan City; Intensity III in Hibok-hibok, Camiguin, Tolosa and Tacloban, Leyte, Bislig City, Gingoog City and Misamis Oriental; and Intensity II in Cagayan de Oro City, Talocogon City, Agusan del Sur, Dumaguete City, Cebu City, the Phivolcs said, adding that aftershocks are expected.
About an hour after the initial strong quake, aftershocks were felt in parts of Surigao del Norte: San Francisco, magnitude 3.8 at 11:09 p.m.; Surigao City, magnitude 2.7 at 11:25 p.m., and Libjo, magnitude 3.4 at 11:30 and 11:36 p.m., according to Phivolcs. Â

Thousands of residents in Surigao City panicked over rumors that the sea level was rising, which prompted them to seek higher ground at the provincial capitol building.

The area's police chief Senior Superintendent Anthony Maghari told radio station DZMM that he saw a school house had collapsed and that many other buildings had developed cracks.

He added the city was suffering from a power outage and that police were checking for any casualties.

According to the the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake struck at a depth of 27 kilometers (around 17 miles) in Mindanao, more than 700 kilometers southeast of the capital Manila.
The USGS earlier said the quake struck at about 2 km southwest of Talisay in Surigao City.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat from the quake.  Reports by Erwin Mascarinas, Tricia Aquino and Agence France-Presse

**This is a developing story, please refresh the page for updated information**