1 week ago Survivors of Philippine twin quakes despair: ‘nowhere to sleep, nothing to eat’

Dazed survivors of a pair of major earthquakes in the southern Philippines awoke on Saturday to scenes of devastation, after hundreds of aftershocks rocked the region overnight. Many coastal residents of Mindanao island had slept outdoors, fearful of being crushed to death by aftershocks of the 7.4 and 6.7 magnitude quakes that struck off the coast within hours of each other on Friday. Philippine authorities said at least eight people were killed but they were still assessing the extent of the...

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1 week ago ‘Shaking was so strong’: earthquake in Philippines triggers tsunami warning

An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck offshore in the southern Philippines on Friday, the country’s seismology agency said, with tsunami warnings issued in several countries and people in nearby coastal areas urged to evacuate to higher ground. The Phivolcs agency warned of damage and aftershocks after the strong offshore quake, which struck in waters off Manay town in Davao Oriental in the Mindanao region. It revised down the magnitude from an initial reading of 7.6 to 7.5, and put the depth of...

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1 week ago ‘Shaking was so strong’: 3 killed as major quake strikes Philippines

A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Friday, killing at least three people and triggering regional tsunami warnings that were later lifted. The quake hit about 20km (12 miles) off Manay town in the Mindanao region at 9.43am, according to the United States Geological Survey. One person was killed when a wall collapsed in Mati City, the largest population hub near the quake’s epicentre, while a local man suffered a fatal heart attack, local officials...

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1 week ago ‘Shaking was so strong’: 5 killed as major quake strikes Philippines

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake on Friday morning off the southern Philippines killed at least five people, set off landslides, damaged hospitals and schools and prompted evacuations of coastal areas nearby because of a tsunami warning, which was later lifted. President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, facing his latest natural disaster after a recent deadly quake and back-to-back storms, said the potential damage was being assessed and rescue teams and relief operations were being prepared and would be...

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1 week ago Second powerful earthquake strikes Philippines after first one kills at least 5

Two powerful offshore earthquakes struck the same region in the southern Philippines hours apart on Friday. The first one, a 7.4 magnitude quake in the morning, killed at least five people, set off landslides, damaged hospitals and schools and prompted evacuations of coastal areas nearby because of a tsunami warning, which was later lifted. The second one had a preliminary 6.9 magnitude. Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology chief Teresito Bacolcol said that Friday night’s...

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2 w. ago Did the Philippines hit ‘snooze button’ again over latest natural disasters?

As the Philippines grapples with the fallout of a deadly earthquake and two destructive typhoons in less than a fortnight, analysts have criticised officials for their poor disaster management, comparing the damage with the flaws exposed by the ongoing flood-control scandal. The latest disasters have highlighted shortcomings ranging from weak enforcement of building codes to chronic underfunding of related scientific programmes, according to the analysts. Those weaknesses were on full display...

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