Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake Rocks the Philippines Killing 11 People

MANILA — A strong earthquake shook the northern Philippines on Monday, 22 April,  leaving at least 11 people dead in collapsed buildings, municipal and disaster relief officials said.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake registered a magnitude of 6.1 and its epicenter was located near the town of Castillejos in Zambales Province, west of Manila. It struck after 5 p.m., as government offices and private businesses were closing for the day.

Five people were reported crushed to death when a wall of the four-story supermarket RJ Mago in the town or Porac, northwest of Manila, collapsed, a spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, told a local radio station.

While the recent earthquake in the Philippines was significant, there remains a threat of “the big one” to hit the Philippines.

The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most active area of earthquakes in the world. The ring of fire accounts for 90% of the world’s earthquakes.

Many areas hit by the quake Monday, which was centered about 40 miles northwest of Manila, were still without power a day later. Electricity providers cut off supply to prevent fires while damage was still being assessed.

 

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