1 Dead, Several Hurt After Intensity 6 Surigao Earthquake

Almost a month after it was hit by an intensity 6.7 earthquake last Feb. 10, Surigao City has yet again been hit by an intensity 6 earthquake on Sunday morning.

According to the Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), the quake’s epicenter was 13 kilometers southwest of San Francisco town, and was felt as far as Leyte. PHIVOLCS Director Renato Solidum said that the earthquake is considered an aftershock of the Feb. 10 earthquake.

Socorro Cenes, 65, died during the aftershockdue to cardiac arrest, as confirmed by Nards Go of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. She joins six others who perished during the Feb. 10 earthquake.

Aside from the death, there have also been 41 earthquake-related injuries reported after the Sunday tremor, in addition to the hundreds injured during the Feb. 10 earthquake. The local government is also looking into the structural integrity of buildings that have already suffered damaged during the earlier quake, as well as other structures damaged by the new tremor.

“We have cited already the buildings whose structural integrity will be considered no longer habitable. Tomorrow we will be issuing the necessary order for them to either demolish the area or cordon the area in whatever way the structure would not cause any injury or destruction to neighboring houses," Casurra said to CNN Philippines.

The Feb. 10 earthquake left 1790 damaged houses, with 143 of them beyond repair. Thirteen schools were also damaged and one bridge collapsed. The cost of the infrastructure damage left by the quake is pegged at P108.45 million.

Solidum says that Surigao City residents should prepare themselves for even more aftershocks, as it occurs naturally after every major earthquake.

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