MANILA – A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Philippine island of Luzon on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, badly damaged a hospital and buildings in a northern province and sent strong tremors through the capital Manila.
There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or deaths from the earthquake, which occurred about 11 km (six mi) southeast of the city of Dolores and at a shallow depth of 10 km (6 mi).
According to officials, a hospital in Abra province was evacuated after the building partially collapsed after the quake, but no casualties were reported.
Abra Governor Joy Burnos posted photos of the damaged Abra Provincial Hospital on his Facebook account, showing a large hole in the front entrance. Other images showed hospital beds, with a patient wheeled across the street and evacuating hospital staff.
“We are still experiencing aftershocks. We have received reports of damages to houses. But so far, no casualties,” said Mayor Rovelyn Villamor in Lagangilang in Abra province.
“We don’t have power supply because that’s automatically cut off due to danger,” Villamor told DZRH radio.
