KUALA LUMPUR – It was a traumatic night for tens of thousands of residents in northeast Mindanao who fled their houses and even from a hospital when a powerful 7.6-magnitude quake struck, triggering tsunami warnings.
A video shared by Dennis Orong showed people screaming as they ran along a street in Lianga, a coastal municipality in Surigao del Sur.
“I was shaking in fear, mainly because of exploding electric poles. It was very traumatic,” the 26-year-old hairdresser told AFP.
While there were no reports of casualties or major property damage in the Hinatuan municipality, Sergeant Joseph Lambo said appliances fell off the shelves at the police office, two TV sets were broken, and the motorcycles parked outside also tumbled down.
He told AFP that 45,000 residents in the municipality were ordered to evacuate, with many going on foot or in vehicles to higher ground.
People in Lingig, about 35km south of Hinatuan, had to contend with fake news of a tsunami hitting the municipality.
Master Sergeant Robert Quesada said the coastal area was at low tide, but most of the residents evacuated nonetheless.
For 24-year-old Bethanie Valledor, she was sleeping when the quake hit.
“I felt like the room we’re staying in would be destroyed. Our place is very near the sea. The resort owner asked us to evacuate immediately. Honestly, I was screaming. I panicked.”
In Butuan City, northwest of Hinatuan, patients were evacuated from the hospitals, some still on their beds and wheelchairs with IV bags hanging from support stands.
A hotel owner in Hinatuan, James Soria, told Reuters that his house had been damaged, and the same goes for Cosme Calejesan’s house in Surigao City, 185km from the epicentre.
“I was already asleep, but I was woken up by the creaking sounds of my cabinets when the tremor occurred. It was frightening. It was sudden and abrupt, and I was worried for my children.”
Meanwhile, strong aftershocks with magnitudes of 6.4, 6.2, 6.1, and 6.0 continue in the southern Philippines even though tsunami warnings are over.
“We started going back to our homes early on Sunday, although we are still shaking because of aftershocks,” 51-year-old Julita Bicap told Reuters.
“There are aftershocks even now. Last night we were at the evacuation centre, including my two foreign guests.”
Bicap is a front desk staffer at a hotel in the coastal town of Bislig.
A quake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale hit Mindanao in the Philippines at 10.37 last night.
According to the Malaysian Meteorological Department, the quake at a depth of 85km occurred 42km southeast of Gingoog City, the Philippines.
A moderate aftershock measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale occurred at a depth of 105km at a distance of 57km southeast of Gingoog City at 11pm. – December 3, 2023