CNN
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A powerful magnitude earthquake 6.9 shook the center of the Philippines on Tuesday night, generating fears of an increase in the number of victims and considerable destruction.
The earthquake occurred around 10 pm local time, according to the United States Geological Service (USGS), only about 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, just west of Palompon in the Philippines and near the city of Bogo in the province of Cebu.
First study models suggest that an earthquake of this magnitude in the region could cause victims and damage to poorly built structures.
The local ABS-CBN news organization reported at least five deaths-including a child, a person from the local fire service and three of the Philippine Coast Guard-in the city of San Remigio in CEBU, citing the police captain Jan Ace Elcid Layug.
Shared images on social networks from the province of Cebu showed a fire that broke out in a mall due to the earthquake, as well as a seriously damaged McDonald’s. In another video, contestants of a beauty pageant were seen running out of the stage when the earthquake began.
The Filipina Red Cross reported that there were reports in Cebu schools on debris, cracks in buildings and a temporary energy cut.
The Filipino Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), which registered multiple replicas near the epicenter in the hours after the initial earthquake, canceled a Tsunami alert for the provinces of Leyte, Biliran and Cebu early on Wednesday, local time.
The governor of Cebu, Pam Baricuatro, urged residents to keep calm in a video on social networks, saying that the presidential office confirmed that he will send immediate help to Cebu. “Know that the provincial government is doing its best. The aid is on its way,” he said.
The Municipality of Medellín in Cebu added in its Facebook publication that classes have been suspended until new notice, and work activities have been suspended until the facilities and buildings are evaluated.
More than half a million people felt a very strong tremor in the Visayas Islands, which include Cebu, Biliran and Leyte in the Philippines center, according to USGS estimates.
A very strong tremor will cause “considerable damage to poorly built or poorly designed structures”, as well as “minor damage to moderate in well -built ordinary structures,” according to the USGS.
Philippines is found along the fire ring, an arc of 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) of seismic failures around the Pacific ocean that houses more than half of the world’s volcanoes.
In 2022, an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 in the north of Luzón, the most populous island in the country, killed at least five people and wounded more than 100. In 2019, an earthquake of magnitude 6.1, also in Luzón, killed at least at least 11.
This news is in development and will be updated
