7.1 SR Earthquake Shakes Northern Philippines Felt As Far As Manila: Hospitals And Buildings Are Severely Damaged, Subway Services Stopped

Illustration. (Unsplash/@jensaber)

JAKARTA - An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck the Philippine island of Luzon on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, severely damaging a hospital and buildings in the northern province, sending strong tremors through the capital, Manila.

A hospital in Abra province was evacuated after part of the building collapsed in the quake, but no casualties were reported, officials said.

"We are still experiencing aftershocks. We have received reports of damage to houses. But so far there have been no casualties," said Mayor Rovelyn Villamor in Lagangilang town, Abra province.

"We didn't have a power supply, because it was automatically cut off due to danger," Villamor told DZRH radio.

The Abra Province public information office posted photos on its Facebook page showing a badly damaged building, with walls with large cracks collapsing.

Meanwhile, the USGS said the epicenter was about 11 km (six miles) east-southeast of the city of Dolores and occurred at a shallow depth of 10 km (6 miles).

"The focus of attention is on Abra and nearby provinces. This is a major earthquake. We expect strong aftershocks," Renato Solidum, director of the state seismological agency, told radio station DZMM.

Separately, Eric Singson, a congressman in northern Ilocos Sur province, told DZMM radio station that the quake felt very strong.

"The earthquake lasted 30 seconds or so. I thought my house was going to collapse," said Singson.

"Now, we are trying to reach people. Right now there are aftershocks so we are outside our houses."

The quake was also felt in Manila and the city's subway system was suspended during rush hours after the quake, the Transport Ministry said. The senate building in the capital was also evacuated, media reported.