(Eagle News) — A 5.9-magnitude earthquake shook Surigao Del Norte early Sunday morning, injuring at least 27 residents and killing at least one person, according to local reports.
According to Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology Director Renato Solidum Jr., the quake that hit the province at 8:08 a.m. was an aftershock of the 6.7-magnitude quake that rocked the area on Feb. 10.
Phivolcs science research assistant Lara Gianan said they are expecting more aftershocks in the weeks to come.
The quake was felt at intensity 6 in Surigao City, Intensity 4 in Limasawa and San Ricardo, Southern Leyte, Intensity 3 in San Juan and San Francisco, Southern Leyte, and intensity 2 in General Luna, Surigao del Norte, and Ormoc City.
As of the latest report from Eagle News Service correspondents from the area, one resident died during the quake, while at least 27 people were injured by this aftershock.
The injured residents were brought to the Surigao Medical Center and the CARAGA regional hospital. Twenty-four of them were outpatients; one was admitted at the Surigao Medical Center; one at the CARAGA regional hospital, while another injured was rescued from a hardware store.
The fatality was identified as Socoro Celis, 65, of Narciso corner Lopez Jaena Street in Surigao City, according to the city’s Public Information Office. She succumbed to a heart attack because of the quake.
The Barton Hotel in Surigao City also swayed during the quake. The hotel perched on top of a mountain had leaned a little on the side after the successive aftershocks that followed the strong 6.7 magnitude quake that hit the province last month. This latest aftershock, felt at intensity in Surigao City on Sunday, seemed to have taken its toll on the building’s foundation.
The city government issued a recommendation for its closure, and warned those living in the houses at the hillsides below it of the hotel building’s dangerous condition.
People were generally fearful again, as they remembered the previous 6.7 magnitude quake that killed at least six people.
Local officials said 10 houses were partially damaged, one was totally damaged and two government-owned structures had also minor damages.
At the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) building in Surigao City, a portion of the glass walls were shattered.
Gates 1 and 2 of the PPA had to be closed temporarily because of the cracks in the remaining portions of the glass walls that had not been shattered by the quake. All passengers can use gates 5A and 5B of the said port.
Meanwhile, electricity had been largely restored in the city.
(with reports and photo contributions from Eagle News Service correspondents in Surigao, namely Jabes Juanite, Carlo Quizon, and Seorge John Juanite)
