Deadly earthquake hits the Philipines
A 6.7 magnitude earthquake strikes island of Negros, killing at least six people and leaving dozens missing.
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake off the central Philippine island of Negros has killed at least six people, including two children, and dozens missing.
Following dozens of aftershocks on Monday, government offices and schools were ordered to close.
A grade-six pupil died after being plucked out from a collapsed chapel wall, while a nine-year-old girl was killed when the concrete wall of a school collapsed, officials said.
A three-storey building caved in and some seaside cottages were destroyed by waves in La Libertad, Negros Oriental, near the epicentre of the earthquake, 5km off the shore of Tayasan town, and at a depth of 10km, according to local calculations.
Some roads, bridges and houses also sustained cracks, but major roads remained passable.
With the earthquake felt in areas within a radius of about 113km, the US Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 6.7 and at a depth of 20km.
The volcanology and seismology institute initially announced a tsunami alert but later lifted it.
"While the threat of immediate danger appears to have passed, we urge the people in affected areas to remain watchfuland calm, and to co-operate with the authorities," said a presidential spokesman.
Television footage showed people scurrying out of buildings, residents converging in open spaces and frightened school children in tears.
"I have advised our people to return to their homes and stay calm. I appeal to our president for help," Roel Degamo, the Negros Oriental Governor, said in a television interview.
"We're just recovering from Typhoon Sending and now this earthquake," said Degamo, referring to the typhoon which killed about 1,250 people in the southern Philippines in December.
Aljazeera
At least 15 people have died after a 6.7 magnitude quake struck the central Philippines, according to government officials.
The quake hit 70km north of Dumaguete city on Negros island at 11:49 (15:49 GMT) at a depth of 20km, according to the US Geological Survey.
The Office of Civil Defense told the BBC that at least 29 people were also reported missing.
But one local report put the number of dead at 43.
Local military commander Colonel Fransisco Patrimonio is quoted in local press as saying that 43 people died in the badly-hit coastal area of Guihulngan, many of them in a landslide following the quake.
But this report has not yet been confirmed by the central authorities.
"As of 8pm tonight we have 10 identified dead and five still unidentified dead and 29 are still missing. The 29 have been identified but they are still missing. Their bodies have not been found," civil defence operations officer Ver Neil Balaba, based in Cebu, told the BBC.
A series of aftershocks followed the initial quake, one of them registered a magnitude of 6.2 at the epicentre many hours after the initial earthquake hit.
Search and rescue operations are being carried out in areas where houses and buildings collapsed due to landslides.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a tsunami alert for the area, but had lifted it by 14:30.
The late morning quake in the Negros and Cebu region caused panic in nearby cities, with people rushing out of schools, malls and offices. Officials in some areas suspended work and cancelled classes.
The death toll includes two children, according to the government's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
A child was reportedly crushed to death by a collapsed wall in Tayasan town in Negros, NDRRMC chief Benito Ramos told reporters.
Buildings in the cities of Cebu and San Carlos shook violently and sustained damages such as broken windows and cracks on the walls, he added.
BBC News
Will update with more news and hopefully donation links as more info comes in.
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake off the central Philippine island of Negros has killed at least six people, including two children, and dozens missing.
Following dozens of aftershocks on Monday, government offices and schools were ordered to close.
A grade-six pupil died after being plucked out from a collapsed chapel wall, while a nine-year-old girl was killed when the concrete wall of a school collapsed, officials said.
A three-storey building caved in and some seaside cottages were destroyed by waves in La Libertad, Negros Oriental, near the epicentre of the earthquake, 5km off the shore of Tayasan town, and at a depth of 10km, according to local calculations.
Some roads, bridges and houses also sustained cracks, but major roads remained passable.
With the earthquake felt in areas within a radius of about 113km, the US Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 6.7 and at a depth of 20km.
The volcanology and seismology institute initially announced a tsunami alert but later lifted it.
"While the threat of immediate danger appears to have passed, we urge the people in affected areas to remain watchfuland calm, and to co-operate with the authorities," said a presidential spokesman.
Television footage showed people scurrying out of buildings, residents converging in open spaces and frightened school children in tears.
"I have advised our people to return to their homes and stay calm. I appeal to our president for help," Roel Degamo, the Negros Oriental Governor, said in a television interview.
"We're just recovering from Typhoon Sending and now this earthquake," said Degamo, referring to the typhoon which killed about 1,250 people in the southern Philippines in December.
Aljazeera
At least 15 people have died after a 6.7 magnitude quake struck the central Philippines, according to government officials.
The quake hit 70km north of Dumaguete city on Negros island at 11:49 (15:49 GMT) at a depth of 20km, according to the US Geological Survey.
The Office of Civil Defense told the BBC that at least 29 people were also reported missing.
But one local report put the number of dead at 43.
Local military commander Colonel Fransisco Patrimonio is quoted in local press as saying that 43 people died in the badly-hit coastal area of Guihulngan, many of them in a landslide following the quake.
But this report has not yet been confirmed by the central authorities.
"As of 8pm tonight we have 10 identified dead and five still unidentified dead and 29 are still missing. The 29 have been identified but they are still missing. Their bodies have not been found," civil defence operations officer Ver Neil Balaba, based in Cebu, told the BBC.
A series of aftershocks followed the initial quake, one of them registered a magnitude of 6.2 at the epicentre many hours after the initial earthquake hit.
Search and rescue operations are being carried out in areas where houses and buildings collapsed due to landslides.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a tsunami alert for the area, but had lifted it by 14:30.
The late morning quake in the Negros and Cebu region caused panic in nearby cities, with people rushing out of schools, malls and offices. Officials in some areas suspended work and cancelled classes.
The death toll includes two children, according to the government's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
A child was reportedly crushed to death by a collapsed wall in Tayasan town in Negros, NDRRMC chief Benito Ramos told reporters.
Buildings in the cities of Cebu and San Carlos shook violently and sustained damages such as broken windows and cracks on the walls, he added.
BBC News
Will update with more news and hopefully donation links as more info comes in.