Manila: The Philippines was struck by a powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake on Friday, just hours after a deadly 7.4 magnitude quake claimed at least five lives and caused widespread damage. The second quake hit Manay town in Davao Oriental province and was linked to seismic activity along the Philippine Trenchthe same fault line behind the earlier tremor.
The initial quake, centred 43 kilometres east of Manay at a depth of about 23 kilometres, damaged hospitals, schools, triggered landslides, and prompted mass evacuations. Among the fatalities were two hospital patients who suffered heart attacks, a Mati city resident killed by falling debris, and two miners in Pantukan town, Davao de Oro province.
The second quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres. Authorities are still determining whether it was an aftershock or a separate event.
Following the first tremor, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu issued a tsunami alert after detecting small waves along the coasts of the Philippines and Indonesia, but the warning was withdrawn two hours later when the threat subsided.
This latest double quake comes less than two weeks after a 6.9 magnitude disaster on September 30 in Cebu province, which left 74 people dead and displaced thousands.
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