The earth has been shaking on Mindanao for weeks. Already in October there were several deaths in earthquakes on the Philippine island, hundreds were injured. There was another series of earthquakes on Sunday: According to measurements by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the most violent earthquake was 6.8 in magnitude and occurred in the Davao region around 2:11 p.m. local time (7:11 a.m.CET).
The center of the quake was therefore a good 20 kilometers deep about six kilometers south of Magsaysay. Then there were a number of other earthquakes - according to USGS measurements with strengths between 4.7 and 5.7. The Philippine Authority Phivolcs (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology) gave the magnitude of the main quake at 6.9. It was felt most strongly in Magsaysay and in the nearby town of Matanao.
Panic in the streets
There are reports of at least 14 injuries in Magsaysay, a local official said. In Matanao, a collapsing wall buried a six-year-old girl, Vincent Fernandez, the city's mayor, said on the radio. The child succumbed to his injuries. According to police, a small three-story building collapsed in Padada. Photos posted on Twitter showed severe building damage. In the city of Davao people panicked from a mall.
Authorities in the hardest hit cities of Davoa and Cotabato canceled school tuition on Monday. First, the stability of the school buildings had to be checked. Some places on Mindanao are cut off from the power supply.
Earthquakes are not uncommon in the Philippines. The Southeast Asian island nation is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most geologically active zone on earth. Around 90 percent of all earthquakes worldwide occur along this line. In Mindanao - the second largest island in the country - 28 people have been killed and more than 600 injured in the past few weeks.
At the beginning of December the tropical cyclone "Kammuri" hit the Philippines. According to the authorities, at least 17 people died, and almost half a million people, most of them in the east of the island state, temporarily lost their homes.
