Loboc - A strong 7.1-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Philippines early on Tuesday, causing at least 32 deaths as roofs and buildings collapsed.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says there is no threat of a Pacific-wide tsunami.
Four people were killed in a building collapse on Bohol Island. Two more people died and 19 others were injured as the roof of a market in the city of Mandaue, Cebu province, collapsed.
The epicentre of the tremor was located at a depth of 20km around Bohol island, to the north of Mindanao island, the US Geological Survey reports.
People were evacuated from the buildings as seven aftershocks ranging between 5.4 and 4.6 in magnitude followed.
Witnesses reported trees shaking and damage to buildings.
The governor of Bohol, Edgardo Chatto, confirmed that several buildings, including a church and the former city hall in the provincial capital of Tagbilaran, were damaged in the quake, injuring one person.
Historic churches, dating back to the Spanish colonial period were damaged in the earthquake, including a collapsed 17th-century stone church in Loboc, Bohol province.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre also noted that quakes of such magnitude can lead to local tsunamis, which are usually destructive along the coasts within a hundred kilometres of the earthquake’s epicentre.
Radio reports from the Philippines’ second most populous city of Cebu, located within 70 kilometres of the epicentre of the earthquake, said that at least two low-rise buildings collapsed and other buildings, including a church, were damaged. Cebu Island is known for its large tourism industry.
Earthquakes are common in the Philippines. In September 2012, tens of thousands of people were ordered from their homes following a tsunami warning after an undersea quake in central Philippines. One person died in the quake, which caused relatively minor damage. – SAnews.gov.za-NNN
