Phivolcs: 89 aftershocks hit Surigao

More aftershocks are expected to hit Surigao following the 6.7 magnitude quake that hit the province Friday evening, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Saturday.

As of 8 a.m., at least 89 aftershocks have been recorded. The strongest of which was a 3.9 magnitude quake that rocked Surigao City, Phivolcs science research analyst John Deximo told ABS-CBN News.

"Kapag ganyan kalakas na quake (6.7 magnitude), nagla-last siya ng 3 to 6 months before magsettle yung fault," Deximo said.

(If the quake is that strong, it will take 3 to 6 months before the fault settles.)

Officials advised residents to seek temporary shelter as soon as they spot cracks in their homes. The public was also told to avoid entering establishments with minor damage.

"Yung mga bahay na medyo may mga crack na, kung pwede wag na sila bumalik kasi marami pa ring aftershocks na nae-experience," Phivolcs science research analyst Daphne Agolia said in an interview on ANC's Dateline Philippines.

(Residents should not return to houses that have cracks as aftershocks are still being felt.)

"Sa nakikita namin meron ng building na apektado, marami ng not fit for occupancy," she added.

(We also saw several buildings that are unfit for occupancy.)

The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has recommended placing Surigao City under State of Calamity due to the extent of the damage.

All classes have been suspended in Surigao City and work in heavily damaged buildings have been suspended as well, Vice Mayor Alfonso Casurra said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

App shakes up earthquake science by turning users into sensors

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Smartphones could become the makeshift quake detectors of the future, thanks to a new app launched Friday designed to track tremors and potentially save the lives of its users.

MyShake, available on Android, links users to become an all-in-one earthquake warning system; it records quake-type rumblings, ties a critical number of users to a location, and could eventually provide a countdown to the start of shaking.

Its inventors say the app, released by the University of California, Berkeley, could give early warning of a quake to populations without their own seismological instruments.

"MyShake cannot replace traditional seismic networks like those run by the U.S. Geological Survey," said Richard Allen, leader of the app project and director of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory.

"But we think MyShake can make earthquake early warning faster and more accurate in areas that have a traditional seismic network, and can provide life-saving early warning in countries that have no seismic network."

Earthquake-prone countries in the developing world with poor ground-based seismic network or early warning systems include Nepal, Peru, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Iran, he said.

The algorithm behind MyShake, developed by a handful of Silicon Valley programmers, relies on the same technology smartphone gamers depend on to sense the phone's orientation, known as the accelerometer, in order to measure movement caused by quakes.

What smartphones lack in sensitivity - they can only record earthquakes above magnitude 5 within 10 kilometres (6 miles) - they make up for in ubiquity.

Currently, 300 smartphones equipped with MyShake within a 110-km square area are enough to estimate a quake's location, magnitude and origin time.

There were some 3.4 billion smartphone subscriptions worldwide in 2015, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report, so the app's creators hope to build a seismic network covering the globe.

"We want to make this a killer app, where you put it on your phone and allow us to use your accelerometer, and we will deliver earthquake early warning," Allen said.

Sophisticated early-warning systems can warn of coming quakes as much as a few minutes before they begin, but cannot stop them causing death and destruction on a large scale.

Nepal is still rebuilding after two separate earthquakes in April and May 2015 that killed 9,000 people, injured more than 22,000 and damaged or destroyed nearly 900,000 houses.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Eleven dead after powerful Taiwan quake fells buildings

TAINAN, Taiwan - A powerful earthquake in Taiwan felled a 16-storey apartment complex full of families who had gathered for Lunar New Year celebrations Saturday, with at least eleven dead and more than 30 feared trapped.

The death toll was rising in the historic city of Tainan, which bore the brunt of the 6.4-magnitude quake, as rescuers scoured rubble for survivors.

An entire residential complex of four buildings containing almost 100 homes toppled, left on its side with twisted metal girders exposed and clouds of dust rising from the jumbled concrete.

Among the nine people killed when the apartment complex collapsed were a 10-day old baby girl and two other children, the National Fire Agency said.

The other two victims were killed in different parts of the city by falling debris, the agency said.

Officials say they are unsure how many residents may still be inside, but media reports estimated at least 30 could be trapped.

Around 800 troops have been mobilised to help the rescue effort, with sniffer dogs also searching through the rubble.

Residents at the felled 16-storey Wei-kuan Building told of their terror as the quake hit, with survivors pulled bleeding and crying from the ruins, some just in their underwear.

"I saw buildings shake up and down and left and right," said one resident.

"The first and second floor just collapsed," he told local channel SET TV.

Another man tied his clothes together to create a rope and lowered himself from his home on the ninth floor to the sixth floor below, Apple Daily reported.

One woman told how she had fought her way out of her home.

"I used a hammer to break the door of my home which was twisted and locked, and managed to climb out," she told SET TV, weeping as she spoke.

Rescuers have freed more than 250 people from the apartment complex, with over 40 of them hospitalised.

Interior minister Chen Wei-jen said he feared there may be more people in the building than usual as family members would have returned to celebrate the Lunar New Year holidays next week.

"We are concerned that most members of those families may have returned for the coming new year holiday," he said.

Heartfelt appeals for the missing were posted on social media.

"My friend in Wei-kuan is currently missing. His brother is waiting at the scene and other relatives are at the hospital looking among those injured. If anyone has related news, please get in touch," one user called applexgreen posted on Taiwan's popular PTT forum.

Another named Ahan asked for information on a family of three with a two-year-old son who lived on the seventh floor of the building.

"My mother is the child's nanny. We haven't been able to get in contact," the post said.

DAZED AND EXHAUSTED

Officials said there were 256 people registered as living in the complex, which contained 96 apartments.

Dazed and exhausted residents stood outside the toppled buildings, watching rescue workers free survivors -- from infants to the elderly, some strapped to stretchers -- and carefully hand them down ladders.

Cranes towered over the disaster zone with diggers trying to move slabs of concrete.

Eight shelters have been set up around the city, with over 100 people taking refuge there, while restaurants and hotels offered free food and rooms to residents.

"The buildings collapsed, but Tainan will stand again! Please treat here like your temporary home, rest well and freshen up. You aren't alone," said one Tainan hotel called Adagio Travel on its Facebook page.

Separately, at least 30 people were earlier freed from another residential seven-storey tower.

Officials said several blocks had collapsed or half collapsed in other parts of the city, with some buildings left leaning at alarming angles.

Across Tainan, more than 400 people were injured, with over 60 hospitalised.

Around 400,000 had been left without water, authorities said, and more than 2,000 homes are still without electricity.

China has offered rescue assistance if needed, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) at around 4:00 am (2000 GMT Friday), 39 kilometres northeast of Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second-largest city.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.

The island's worst quake in recent decades was 7.6 magnitude in September 1999, killing around 2,400 people.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Magnitude 8.5 quake strikes off eastern Japan

TOKYO - A magnitude 8.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Japan on Saturday, shaking buildings in Tokyo but with no immediate reports of damage, public broadcaster NHK said.

There was no danger of tsunami, it added.

The earthquake, centered off the Ogasawara islands south of Tokyo, was felt widely in Japan but occurred at a depth of 590 km.

Tokyo Electric Power Co said there were no abnormalities at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant following the quake. The runways at Tokyo's Narita airport were operating normally but the high-speed bullet train service between Tokyo and Osaka was halted due to a power outage, NHK said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Fil-Am doctors, nurses rush to help Nepal quake victims

CALIFORNIA - Two weeks after the devastating earthquake in Nepal which left more than 8,000, another quake has struck the country.

The 7.3 magnitude earthquake caused more buildings to crumble even as the country is still reeling from the massive devastation two weeks ago.

Video captured by the Canadian Red Cross shows rocks tumbling down a mountain north of Kathmandu.

As the latest quake compounds ongoing relief efforts in Nepal, Filipino-American doctors and medical workers have pitched in.

Top Fil-Am doctor in California Herminigildo Valle recalled the scene as the quake struck midday Tuesday.

"The whole building was shaking really hard and then there was this loud noise. When I go to the streets, I saw everybody, a lot of people running in all directions crying and yelling and people just lying on the ground," Dr. Valle said.

Officials say the epicenter was midway between Kathmandu and Mount Everest, close to the Chinese border.

Its tremors were powerful enough to be felt as far away as New Delhi, India, where several people also died.

As Dr. Valle visits the remote regions of Nepal to offer medical support, he said the devastation is simply staggering.

"I haven't seen this much death and destruction. You see people living in tarpaulin tents from 90 year olds to 3 year olds with cast on the leg. The worst thing is the smell. I could still smell the dead in the area.

Valle said he was supposed to go back to the devastated area of Sindhupalchowk, which is known for its treacherous terrain, but was lucky not to have made the trip when the latest quake struck.

"Maybe by the grace of God, we were supposed to go back there this morning. That terrain is like 10 times that of Kennon Road in Baguio with the road going the side of the mountain and with that kind of earthquake you never know what's gonna happen to the highway, the landslides and all. So today was my lucky day. Someone was watching over me," he said.

Rescue helicopters have been sent to remote areas.

Officials fear the death toll may rise even further with reports of people buried under the rubble near the Himalayas.

More Filipino-American nurses under the California Nurses Association will be deployed in the coming days to help in the medical efforts.

Read more from Balitang America

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

85 dead as strong quake rocks Visayas

A powerful earthquake killed at least 85 people in the Philippines Tuesday as it tore down modern buildings, destroyed historic churches and triggered terrified stampedes across popular tourist islands.

Fifteen of the confirmed fatalities were in Cebu, the country's second most important city and a gateway to some of its most beautiful beaches, the national disaster agency reported.

The 7.1-magnitude quake killed another 69 people in the neighboring island of Bohol, famed for its rolling "Chocolate Hills", while one other person died on nearby Siquijor, which attracts tourists with its pristine white sands.

"I was thrown to the ground by the strength of the quake. Broken glass rained on me," Elmo Alinsunorin, who was on duty as a guard for a government tax office in Cebu, told AFP.

"I thought I was going to die."

Authorities said the death toll could still climb, with officials struggling to assess the extent of the damage in the worst-hit areas of Bohol where roads were impassable and power was cut.

Nevertheless, they expressed relief the earthquake occurred on a public holiday, meaning there were fewer people than normal in many of the major buildings that suffered damage.

The quake struck at 08:12 (0012 GMT) near Balilihan, a town of about 18,000 people on Bohol, at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles), the USGS reported.

The town lies across a strait about 60 kilometres from Cebu.

Cebu, with a population of 2.5 million people, is the political, economic, educational and cultural centre of the central Philippines.

It hosts the country's busiest port and the largest airport outside of the capital Manila. It also has a major ship building industry.

A university, a school and two shopping malls, public markets and many small buildings sustained damage in the quake.







Mass panic sparks stampede

Three of the people who died in Cebu were crushed to death in a stampede at a sports complex, where poor people had gathered to collect regular government cash handouts, according to the provincial disaster council chief, Neil Sanchez.

"There was panic when the quake happened and there was a rush toward the exit," Sanchez told AFP.

He said two other people were killed when part of a school collapsed on a car they had parked in, while four others died at a fish market that crumbled.

The Philippines' oldest church, Cebu's Basilica Minore del Santo Nino, was badly damaged, with its limsetone belfry in ruins.

It was first built in the 1500s by Spanish colonisers, although its current structure dates back to the 1700s.

A church on Bohol that was first built in the early 1600s also collapsed, according to Robert Michael Poole, a British tourist who was visiting the area.

"It's absolutely devastated... the entire front of the church has collapsed onto the street," Poole told AFP by telephone.

However he said there was nobody in the church at the time of the quake.

Aside from its beaches, Bohol is famous for its more than 1,000 small limestone "Chocolate Hills" that turn brown during the dry season.

One of the main tourist venues there, the Chocolate Hills Complex, was severely damaged and may be beyond repair, according to Delapan Ingleterra, head of a local tourist police unit.

"There are huge cracks in the hotel and there was a collapse of the view deck on the second floor," Ingleterra told AFP, adding that no-one was injured at the complex.

There were no reports of foreign tourists being killed anywhere in the disaster zone.

Tuesday's quake was followed by at least four aftershocks measuring more than 5.0 in magnitude.

The epicenter was 629 kilometers from Manila.

The Philippines lies on the so-called Ring of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean region where many of Earth's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.

More than 100 people were left dead or missing in February last year after an earthquake struck on Negros island, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter of Tuesday's quake.

The deadliest recorded natural disaster in the Philippines occurred in 1976, when a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastated the Moro Gulf on the southern island of Mindanao.

Between 5,000 and 8,000 people were killed, according to official estimates.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Hospitals in quake-hit areas under red alert

MANILA -- The Department of Health (DOH) has placed all hospitals in quake-ravaged areas under red alert, DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said.

Under red alert, all medical and non-medical personnel are required to report for work.

In an interview with ANC's "News Now" on Tuesday afternoon, Tayag said they will also deploy staff from hospitals in the National Capital Region to augment the teams in the affected areas.

Tayag said the hospitals are expecting an influx of patients as aftershocks are still expected to persist this week.

The DOH earlier said cracks were discovered in six hospitals but assured that they are still operational.

Tayag said inspection of the buildings is ongoing to ensure the safety of the patients as well as the hospital staff.

The government said relief efforts are underway and funds for the affected areas are ready.

The provinces of Bohol and Cebu have been placed under a state of calamity due to the devastating effects of the magnitude 7.2 quake that rocked parts of Visayas and Mindanao Tuesday morning.

The death toll is currently pegged at 73.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Powerful new earthquake hits shattered Pakistan region

AWARAN - A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwest Pakistan Saturday, in a region already devastated by a tremor which left more than 300 people dead and 100,000 homeless less than a week ago.

The new quake struck the remote district of Awaran, at a depth of 14 kilometres at 12:34 pm (0734 GMT) according to the US Geological Survey.

"It was not an aftershock, it was an independent earthquake," Zahid Rafi, director of the National Seismic Centre of Pakistan, told Geo TV.

Awaran, the poorest district in the southwest province of Baluchistan, was shattered by a 7.7-magnitude quake on Tuesday which left 359 dead and more than 100,000 people homeless.

Relief efforts there have been thwarted by insurgent attacks on rescue convoys, with local officials admitting that teams have been unable to reach thousands of survivors in the worst-hit areas.

An AFP reporter in Awaran said Saturday that hundreds of patients being treated in the aftermath of the previous quake fled a hospital in panic as the new tremor hit.

Pakistan's chief meteorologist Arif Mehmood told Express News that the magnitude of Saturday's quake measured 7.2.

Deputy Commissioner of Awaran, Abdul Rasheed Baloch told Geo TV that quake destroyed hundreds of mud houses in the Mashkey area, saying that "a lot of people have been trapped under the rubble".

"The telephone system has been damaged and we are not able to talk to someone and find out the exact information about the losses... But we have reports of severe losses in that area," Baloch said.

Rescue efforts in Mashkey, where the epicentre of the first quake was located, had already been complicated by insurgent groups in the area who have launched attacks on relief convoys, with local officials saying some 30,000 survivors are still waiting for aid.

The area is a stronghold of Baluch separatist rebels waging a decade-long insurgency against the Pakistani state.

The situation has forced officials to abandon efforts to reach survivors directly, saying instead they will work through village committees and private NGOs.

Abdul Malik, provincial chief minister of Baluchistan, told AFP that food and other rescue items would be distributed through local villagers.

He appealed to the local separatist groups to allow rescue officials to reach the survivors.

"It is a humanitarian tragedy and I appeal them to allow rescue workers to help the survivors," Malik told AFP late Friday.

Manan Baloch, a leader of the Baluchistan National Movement, allied to the Baluchistan Liberation Front, told AFP that his group will only allow private NGOs and local officials to help survivors.

"We will not allow army or FC (paramilitary Frontier Corps) here, only NGOs or local officials are allowed to come here," he said.

A Pakistan army officer in Awaran told AFP the military only wanted to help locals.

"They are not ready to accept us," he said on condition of anonymity.

An AFP reporter in Awaran on Saturday said aid workers along with trucks loaded with food, clothes and, medicine were seen moving towards Mashkey.

On Thursday, a helicopter carrying the head of the NDMA came under rocket fire by insurgents while flying in Awaran district. No-one was hurt and no damage was done.

On Friday, insurgents opened fire on another helicopter and, in two separate incidents, fired on rescue convoys, officials said, adding that no one was hurt in the attacks.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Magnitude 6 jolts western Japan, injuries reported

A strong quake registering a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 struck western Japan early Saturday morning and caused a number of injuries, but no tsunami warning was issued, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The 5:33 a.m. quake registered lower 6 on Japan's seismic intensity scale of 7 on Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture. The quake originated near the island at a depth of around 10 kilometers, the agency said on its website.

The central government has set up a task force at the prime minister's office and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed the Cabinet's crisis management officials to gather information on quake damage and make every effort to help those who are injured, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

The National Police Agency said 19 injuries, including 10 in Hyogo, had been confirmed in five prefectures as of 10 a.m. The Hyogo prefectural government said 14 injuries had been reported by 9:45 a.m.

Local officials on Awaji Island said they have received some reports of damage to building roofs and walls but that no large-scale structural damage has been confirmed.

No quake damage was observed at nuclear facilities in western Japan including the Ikata power plant in Ehime Prefecture, the Shimane plant in Shimane Prefecture and an atomic laboratory in Osaka, their operators said. The Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, the only plant which has currently operating reactors in Japan, was unaffected.

Many train services in Hyogo and surrounding areas were suspended for safety inspections, but they have mostly resumed operations, operators said.

Major airports in the area suffered no damage, the transport ministry said. Four planes delayed landing at Kansai International Airport in Osaka due to the quake, but they all arrived safely.

Other major infrastructure such as roads and bridges were unaffected and there has been no power outage.

In Hyogo, a powerful quake originating off the northern coast of Awaji Island caused extensive damage in Kobe and surrounding areas in 1995, killing over 6,000 people.

The meteorological agency warned of possible aftershocks as strong as lower 5 on the Japanese intensity scale for a week or so.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Magnitude-7 quake strikes off Papua New Guinea but no tsunami alert raised

A magnitude-7 earthquake struck off the north coast of Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey reported.

The quake struck at a depth of 125.5 miles (202 kilometers) and was centered 137 kilometers north of Lae, Papua New Guinea's second-largest city,

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no destructive Pacific-wide tsunami was expected.

Papua New Guinea is on the geologically active Pacific Ring of Fire and suffers many earthquakes but often avoids major damage and casualties because most of its people live in light and flexible housing.

However, more than 2,000 people were killed in 1998 when a magnitude-7 quake struck off Papua New Guinea's north coast, causing a tsunami that smashed into isolated villages.

source: interaksyon.com

Rare earthquake felt in Hong Kong

HONG KONG - A rare earthquake rattled Hong Kong early Thursday, prompting concerned local residents to call the authorities, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

There were no reports of damage from the quake which had a magnitude of 4.2, according to the US Geological Survey, adding that it struck at a relatively shallow depth of 19 kilometers (11.5 miles) at 02:34 (1834 GMT).

It hit the Chinese province of Guangdong, some 119 kilometers northeast of Dongguan -- a factory hub -- which is around 100 kilometers from Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Observatory measured the quake at 4.5 magnitude and said it was felt by residents in the glitzy financial hub.

source: interaksyon.com