Manila [Philippines]: A 7-magnitude earthquake that rattled the main Luzon island in the Philippines on Wednesday morning killed at least four people and injured some 60 others, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos said.In a report to Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Abalos said that two of the deaths were from Benguet, one from Abra and one from the Mountain Province. He added that many of the injured were from Abra province.
Abalos said the earthquake triggered nearly 60 landslides and made highways and roads impossible in the northern Philippine region. At least three bridges in Abra province, the quake's epicentre, were damaged.He added the quake-affected three northern Philippine regions, including 15 provinces, 15 cities, 218 municipalities, and 6,756 villages."There are road closures in some parts of Abra, power interruptions in Abra and Benguet, intermittent communication lines in Region 1, landslides in the Cordillera Administrative Region, and minor damages in other regions," Abalos said.The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) confirmed the death of one person in Benguet province in the northern Philippines. Governor of Abra provinceJocelyn Bernos said a 25-year-old male was also killed after he was pinned by a concrete slab in Bangued town.The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said a 7-magnitude earthquake rattled Abra province in the northern Philippines at 8:43 a.m. local time (0043 GMT). The institute said the epicentre is located at Tayum town, with a depth of 17 km.The tremor was felt in many areas on the main Luzon Island, including Metro Manila, where high-rise buildings swayed and train transport suspended operation. It was also felt in many provinces, including Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya, Bulacan, Laguna and Cavite.
—ANI