Philippines earthquake death toll reaches 10, over 300,000 affected
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Though the death toll of the Philippines' strongest earthquake in years is not high, it has affected more than 300,000 people and caused significant damage to buildings.
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A car badly damaged during the earthquake in Vigan, Philippines July 27, 2022. (Photo credit: Reuters)
The earthquake that hit the Philippines days ago has killed 10 people so far and affected over 314,000, according to a Sunday report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The NDRRMC report says a total of 314,161 people have been affected by the earthquake, a total of 10 people died, and 375 others were injured. The disaster agency said no people have been reported missing.
More than 21,800 houses were destroyed, and 48 cities and municipalities experienced power outages, the NDRRMC said.
The 7-magnitude earthquake hit the northern Philippine provinces of Abra, Luzon, and Metropolitan Manila on July 27, with the epicenter lying at a depth of 17 kilometers (10.6 miles), and 798 aftershocks were recorded following the first earthquake, the NDRRMC said.
Strongest recorded quake
The earthquake on Wednesday was the strongest recorded in the Philippines in years.
"Some of our personnel were pruning branches so they had to climb down immediately after they felt the strong shaking," said Pangasinan provincial police chief Colonel Richmond Tadina.
Centuries-old structures established during the Spanish colonial period were damaged in Vigan City, in the neighboring province of Ilocos Sur.
The Bantay Bell Tower in the popular tourist destination partially collapsed, according to verified video footage posted on Facebook.
"We can't rule out the possibility of another strong earthquake," said Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Almost 400,000 people were displaced, and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed.
The tremendous quake affected the island's terrain, as a "ground rupture" pushed up a three-meter strip of ground, producing a rock wall above the epicenter.
