Several properties were damaged as a Magnitude 6 earthquake jolted parts of the provinces of Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur early Wednesday morning, April 12.
Initial reports coming from the local governments of Wao in Lanao del Sur and Kalilangan in Bukidnon said residential structures and public buildings were damaged by the tremor that struck at around 5:21 a.m. on Wednesday. One person was reported slightly injured.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) first reported the earthquake’s epicenter in Kalilangan but later changed it to Wao.
Francis Garcia, chief of the Wao Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO), said in a phone interview Wednesday morning that based on their initial assessment, about 30 houses were partially damaged in the villages of West Kili-kili, Extension Poblacion, Serran, Panang and Balatin.
In Panang, two mosques were damaged while a portion of the national highway had slight cracks.
The walls of some buildings at the Kili-kili National High School also cracked due to the quake, which Phivolcs said was of tectonic origin.
Panang barangay chairman Arsenio Delos Reyes said in an interview that 40-year-old Jorie Sagon was slightly wounded when a hollowblock fell on her right foot.
Garcia said the people went back to their homes after the earthquake, except for the families living in four houses made of light materials, who temporarily sought shelter at their relatives.
In Kalilangan, Bukidnon the municipal government building was also damaged, reports said.
Jennie Tamano, Lanao del Sur provincial information officer, said the quake also caused power outages across the province. Electricity was restored later in the morning.
Tamano said patients in the upper floor of a still unnamed hospital were evacuated to the ground floor when the tremor started.
Based on the Phivolcs report, the earthquake at Wao and Kalilangan was felt at Intensity 7.
Intensity 4 was felt in Cagayan de Oro City, Cotabato City, Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental, Matalam in North Cotabato and Davao City.
Intensity 3 was recorded in Kabacan, North Cotabato; Maramag, Quezon and Don Carlos in Bukidnon; and Lebak in Sultan Kudarat.Intensity 2 was felt in the cities of Kidapawan in North Cotabato and Koronadal in South Cotabato.The quake was also felt in Camiguin and Misamis Oriental provinces (Intensity 1). (PNA)
