DAMAGE TO SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS
The Philippines experiences hundreds of quakes each year and sits on tectonically complex parts of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a seismically active belt stretching from South America to the Russian Far East.
Rafaelito Alejandro, head of the office of civil defence, told DZBB radio that schools, which had just reopened on Monday after a long break, remained closed as the authorities checked the condition of school buildings, thousands of which sustained minor to severe damage.
A video shared by one school of the moment the quake struck showed a large group of children sitting on a floor swaying violently from side to side, some hugging teachers, before they fled en masse as a makeshift shelter collapsed behind them.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded 23 strong aftershocks, with the strongest measuring magnitude 6.7, forcing some residents to spend the night in evacuation centres and tents.
In General Santos and Sarangani, patients were treated in makeshift tents as officials worked to ensure hospitals were safe, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa told DZBB, adding that the restoration of power was critical as outages limited access to sensitive and sophisticated treatments needed by patients.
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