Time.news – A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit the northern Philippines. This was announced by the United States Geological Survey. The quake occurred in the province of Abra, on the main island of Luzon, at a depth of 40 km (25 miles).
And the victims are at least 4, 16 people injured. Interior Minister Benhur Abalos said in a press conference, along with the country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, that two people died in Benguet province, one in Abra and another in La Montana.
The intensity of the tremors was updated by the Philippine authorities: from a magnitude initially estimated at 7.1 it passed to 7.3at a depth of 17 kilometers. The earthquake hit about 15 cities and caused severe damage to at least 179 buildings, 29 roads and three bridges.
“Due to the magnitude of the quake, we are talking about a large earthquake and we could expect significant damage, “said Abalos during the press conference at the Malacanan presidential palace in Manila.
The earthquake was strongly felt in the capital Manilaand hit the northern part of the island of Luzon, the most populous of the Philippines and where the capital is located.
The United States Geological Survey (Usgs), which monitors seismic activity around the world, has reported that the epicenter of the earthquake is 10 kilometers deep and has located the earthquake about 12 kilometers from the city of Dolores, which has about 32,500 inhabitants.
The Philippines is located on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area that absorbs about 90% of the world’s seismic and volcanic activity and is plundered by about 7,000 earthquakes a year, most of them moderate.
(article updated at 10.05 am)