Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - People in the province of Abra in the Philippines slept outside because they were afraid after a strong e...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - People in the province of Abra in the Philippines slept outside because they were afraid after a strong earthquake hit the northern island of Luzon, killing four people and hurting more than 130.
Some people in the area said on Thursday that they were too scared to go back to their homes, so they camped out with their families on sidewalks and in parks to make sure they were safe.
The 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the northern island of Luzon in the Philippines on Wednesday morning, causing damage to homes and buildings, including historic structures and churches that are hundreds of years old. Since then, scientists have tracked close to 800 aftershocks.
Erlinda Bisares, who lived in Bangued town in Abra, which was just 11 km (6.8 miles) from the epicentre, said that she and her family did not want to risk going back home.
Bisares told CNN Philippines, "We were so scared." She remembered how the earthquake had shook her house and furniture. "We didn't mind our belongings, we just hurried outside. It's more important to live."
Mark Timbal, a spokesman for the national disaster agency, told reporters that the number of deaths from the earthquake had been changed from five to four, but that the number of people hurt had gone up to more than 130.
The Philippines are prone to natural disasters and are on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a band of volcanoes and fault lines that goes around the edge of the Pacific Ocean and is very active seismically. There are a lot of earthquakes, and on average there are 20 typhoons a year, some of which cause deadly landslides.
Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan told DZBB radio that work was being done to clean up, and that his agency had started to clean up the main roads in Abra and other districts where the earthquake caused rockslides.
Ricardo Jalad, who runs the Office of Civil Defense, told radio station DZRH that some parts of Abra still don't have power or water and can't talk to each other.
The ministry of the budget said that the government was ready to give money for disaster relief.
