Earthquake of 7.9 Magnitude Strikes Off Philippines: USGS

[ms.sin17]

The quake was centered off the east coast, 91 miles off the town of Guiuan in Samar province at a depth of about 20 miles, USGS said.

The tsunami warning was issued for the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea and other islands in the Pacific including the U.S. state of Hawaii.

The NOAA Tsunami Center later lifted a warning for Japan, Taiwan and several other Pacific islands.

"Strong earthquake here in Taft, Eastern Samar! And it lasted very long too!" Samar congressman, Ben Evardone, told reporters via text message.

An official at the Philippines' Volcanolgy Institute said he expected damage had been caused in Samar province but he had yet to receive any reports.

"If you are anywhere near the coast I recommend that you head to higher ground," Paul Caruso of the USGS told Sky TV by telephone when asked about a threat of a tsunami hitting the coast of the Philippines.

(Reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)






I wish everyone is safe coz I have experienced the quake awhile ago !!! and it was VERY VERY SHOCKING !!!! I thought my sister was just moving the bed when it became very serious but before that, it has rained already and now the rain is getting worse !!! Walls were shaking and my mother was calling the Lord's name (which she used to do) and when I went outside I saw the CRACKS on our house' walls !!!! when the power went off then rain was still pouring outside, I realized how much I wasted time to WORK FOR MY SALVATION !! Then I told myself I am not yet really ready for the END OF THE WORLD (which I have read a lot on my News Feed on Facebook, they were FLOODING UPDATES ABT IT) and to face the Lord Jesus!!! I think that was the WORST earthquake I've ever experienced in my whole existence, now my headache gets worse Let us PRAY !!!


KEEP SAFETY EVERYONE !!!

[Smiley]

You and your neighbors are in my thoughts.

[ms.sin17]

This is a pic of a place in Butuan City where I live. An earthquake hit Butuan so strong it shook one building to the ground this evening. The rain stopped an hour ago but it is starting to pour some rains again now.



Thanks, Smiley for the thoughts !!!!!

[Edwin]

I will pray for you guys, ms.sin17, that you will be safe. I was in an earthquake something like that when I was a teenager, but it happened in the middle of the night, and my brother and I got rolled all over the porch, but we didn't wake up even! That one cracked walls, broke windows, dumped groceries off the shelves, and also killed a whole bunch of people by causing the hill to fall and cover them! They are frightening and very serious!

[Edwin]

ms.sin17, how are things by now for you and your family after that earthquake. I am sorry for your fright and your trauma! I was happy to hear you say that your mother called upon the Lord! God Bless her, and you all, and I hope and pray that you are safe, and that you did not suffer too much damage! Bless You, ms.sin17, David

(Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people on a central Philippine island returned home on Saturday after a tsunami alert was lifted following a 7.6 magnitude undersea quake, as local authorities began work to repair damages to public infrastructure.

The earthquake 91 miles off the town of Guiuan on Samar island on Friday killed one person and caused only minor damage, but prompted the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to issued a tsunami warning.

Philippine authorities ordered thousands of people living in coastal villages to evacuate, but on Saturday those that had fled to higher grounds were returning home, said Conrado Nicart, governor of Eastern Samar province.

"We've sent out our engineers and repair teams to inspect roads, bridges and public buildings," Nicart told radio, adding the earthquake caused minor infrastructure damage.

"Our people were reporting cracks on roads and municipal gymnasiums, and approaches on a bridge near Mercedes town were also damaged but remained passable to light vehicles."

The tsunami warning was initially issued for the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea and other islands in the Pacific including the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Small waves of about 16 cm (6 inches) did hit a southern Philippine island, the seismology agency said.

"It was really scary, that was the strongest earthquake I felt in my life," Alice Caba-caba, a 50-year-old mother of four, told Reuters from her small canteen in Guiuan town, saying she was watching television when jolted by the tremor.

"Everything was shaking and falling down. Our television was broken. After the shaking, I gathered my children and we fled to a safer place because our house is near the beach. Everybody was praying, children were crying and all are panicking."

Eastern Samar, a typhoon-prone coconut-growing area facing the Pacific, is one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines. Nearly 90 percent of the sparsely populated towns are along the coast and most of the structures are low-rise buildings.

The region has been hit by two huge quakes in the past decade. At least 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean countries were killed in a quake and tsunami off Indonesia in 2004.

Last year, an earthquake and tsunami off Japan's northeastern coast killed about 20,000 people and triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years after waves battered a nuclear power station.

(Writing By Manuel Mogato; Editing by Michael Perry)