Earthquake hits Northern Luzon

CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, Pampanga — People in Northern and Central Luzon were jolted when a Magnitude 7 earthquake shook Luzon early Wednesday morning.

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) Director Renato Solidum said in a media briefing that the epicenter of the Magnitude 7 earthquake that occurred at 8:43 am on July 27 is Tayum, Abra and affected a wide area in Luzon.

Phivolcs advised people to be vigilant as aftershocks may occur. The trembler was tectonic in origin.

He also advised those in areas prone to landslides to evacuate to safer areas to prevent loss of lives.

The tremor caused widespread damage to structures in Abra, collapsing and damaging houses, buildings and infrastructure as well as historical sites such as churches. The neighboring provinces such as Ilocos Sur were also affected.

In a situation report submitted to Pampanga Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Angelina Blanco reported that the earthquake was felt at Intensity 5 in Mexico town and Intensity 3 in the towns of Magalang and Guagua.

The trembler also caused goods in grocery stores to fall off shelves while falling debris from buildings damaged nearby vehicles.

Blanco said the PDRRMC Operations Center and Command and Control Center at the Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO) compound in Sindalan in the City of San Fernando has been activated and Disaster Response Equipment and Manpower and members agencies and offices, including local disaster council in the 21 LGUs in Pampanga have been put on 24/7 standby for continuous monitoring and coordination.

The PDRRMO said that although the earthquake lasted for around one minute in Pampanga, no damage or incidents have been reported as of 9:27 am.

In Angeles City, Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. ordered the immediate inspection of the City Hall and the buildings and premises in the City Hall compound, churches, schools and other infrastructure throughout the city to insure structural integrity following the Magnitude 7 earthquake.

The inspection was conducted as city government employees were already at work and students were already in school when the earthquake occurred. Officers and employees evacuated the City Hall following the earthquake.

Lazatin immediately went to the Angeles City Emergency Command Center with angeles City Disaster Chief Rudy Simeon, City Engineer Donato Dizon and Executive Assistant Reina Manuel.

Lazatin instructed Dizon to conduct an inspection of government facilities and also asked the Department of Public Works and Highways to inspect all the bridges in the city to ensure the safety of his kababayans and all the people going in-and-out of Angeles City.

Meanwhile, following the strong earthquake, several schools suspended classes and operations for safety as facilities are inspected.

Classes and office operations were cancelled for the day at the Angeles University Foundation as an inspection is conducted on all the university’s facilities for any damages.

The school administration at the Proverbsville School also sent their students home after the earthquake.

In this Freeport, hundreds of employees evacuated to safe areas as a result of the earthquake. Employees of companies and agencies in Clark were prompted to evacuate to safer ground after the temblor.

At the One West Aeropark office building at the Clark Global City, employees of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) felt the earthquake more as they were in the upper floors of 11-storey building. The BCDA employees as well as those of the other companies evacuated the building and trooped to safer ground following the earthquake.

Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos reported during a briefing with President Marcos that at least 15 local government units in Regions I and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) were affected by the earthquake.

Abalos also reported four casualties and 16 injuries in the incident.

Several roads, particularly major routes in the mountainous parts of northern Luzon, have also been rendered impassable that have isolated some areas due to landslides but are currently being cleared.

Several structures, including bridges, in other parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila, were also either damaged or destroyed. (Jojo C. Due/ TVN News Editor)