Earthquake sparks panic but tsunami waves tiny
Source: Agencies |
September 1, 2012, Saturday
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A 7.6-MAGNITUDE earthquake struck off the Philippines' eastern coast last night, killing one person in a house collapse, knocking out power in several towns and spurring panic about a tsunami that ended up generating only tiny waves.
The quake set off car alarms, shook items off shelves and sent many coastal residents fleeing for high ground before the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lifted all tsunami alerts it had issued for the Philippines and neighboring countries from Indonesia to Japan, and for Pacific islands as far away as the Northern Marianas.
"It was very strong. My house was making sounds," Bemruel Noel, a member of the Philippine House of Representatives, said in a telephone interview from Tacloban city on the eastern coast of Leyte island, where the quake set off a small stampede of residents. "You talk to God with an earthquake that strong," he said.
One house collapsed in Cagayan de Oro city, on the main southern island of Mindanao, killing a 54-year-old woman and injuring her five-year-old grandson, who was being treated in a hospital, said the city's mayor, Vicente Emano.
The quake generated tiny tsunami waves of about 3 centimeters along the eastern Philippine coast near Legazpi city and another nearby location, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
Initial tsunami warnings prompted many residents to head inland. "My neighbors and I have evacuated. We are now on our way to the mountains," fisherman Marlon Lagramado said before the warnings were lifted, from the coastal town of Guiwan in the Philippine province of Eastern Samar.
Benito Ramos, a retired general who heads the country's disaster-response agency, said residents should be on the alert for more quakes.
"Don't sleep, especially those in the eastern seaboard ... because there might be aftershocks," he said.
The quake set off car alarms, shook items off shelves and sent many coastal residents fleeing for high ground before the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lifted all tsunami alerts it had issued for the Philippines and neighboring countries from Indonesia to Japan, and for Pacific islands as far away as the Northern Marianas.
"It was very strong. My house was making sounds," Bemruel Noel, a member of the Philippine House of Representatives, said in a telephone interview from Tacloban city on the eastern coast of Leyte island, where the quake set off a small stampede of residents. "You talk to God with an earthquake that strong," he said.
One house collapsed in Cagayan de Oro city, on the main southern island of Mindanao, killing a 54-year-old woman and injuring her five-year-old grandson, who was being treated in a hospital, said the city's mayor, Vicente Emano.
The quake generated tiny tsunami waves of about 3 centimeters along the eastern Philippine coast near Legazpi city and another nearby location, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
Initial tsunami warnings prompted many residents to head inland. "My neighbors and I have evacuated. We are now on our way to the mountains," fisherman Marlon Lagramado said before the warnings were lifted, from the coastal town of Guiwan in the Philippine province of Eastern Samar.
Benito Ramos, a retired general who heads the country's disaster-response agency, said residents should be on the alert for more quakes.
"Don't sleep, especially those in the eastern seaboard ... because there might be aftershocks," he said.
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