26 injured as 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits Philippines

At least 26 people have been injured after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit the town of Lagayan in Abra province, 348 kilometres north of Manila, the capital of the Philippines on Tuesday.

The powerful quake which rocked the northern Philippines city, according to officials, forced the closure of an international airport, sending panicking residents into the streets and caused substantial damage to a hospital.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in a statement on Wednesday, the earthquake, which struck at about 10:59pm on Tuesday near the upland town of Dolores, was felt as far away as the capital Manila, more than 330km (205 miles) to the south.

The institute said it had an initial magnitude of 6.7 but was later downgraded to 6.4.

Police and civil aviation officials confirmed that a vast majority of the injuries were injured in Ilocos Norte, the home province of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, where the international airport in the capital city of Laoag was ordered to close temporarily on Wednesday due to damage from the earthquake

The earthquake also damaged houses and public infrastructure, government agencies said on Wednesday.

Read also:Four people killed, dozens injured as powerful earthquake hits Northern Philippines

According to an initial assessment, power was cut in some affected provinces, while the national disaster agency said some roads were impassable due to rock slides or cracks.

The Philippines is prone to quakes as it is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where about 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes occur.

One of the strongest quakes to hit the country was in July 1990, where more than 2,400 people were killed on the northern island of Luzon in a 7.8-magnitude earthquake.

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