Another scare for Philippines as second earthquake of 6.9 magnitude hits country hours after a 7.4 magnitude quake

A second earthquake of 6.9 magnitude hit Philippines, on Friday (Oct 10), hours after a 7.4 magnitude one in which at least five people died. There was a tsunami warning issued after the first one, which was later called off. The first earthquake, however, caused damage to hospitals, schools, triggered landslides and prompted the authorities to initiate evacuations across the affected area. The second earthquake happened in Manay town in Davao Oriental province, which was caused by the movement in the same fault line, the Philippine Trench, which had caused the first one earlier in the day.

Where did earthquakes hit in Philippines?

The first earthquake had the epicentre nearly 43 kilometres east of Manay town in Davao Oriental province and was caused due to movement in Philippine Trench at the depth of about 23 kilometres. The second one happened due to the movement in the same fault line but at the depth of 10 kilometres. It was not clear still that the second earthquake was an aftershock of the first one or a separate quake.

At least five people died in the first earthquake, including two patients at a hospital who suffered a heart attack and a resident of Mati city in Davao Oriental died after being hit by debris. Two other people died in a remote gold-mining village in Pantukan town in Davao de Oro province.

What about the tsunami scare?

After the first earthquake, Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu observed small waves on the coast of Philippines and Indonesia. The threat of a major tsunami passed after two hours of the quake. It was only on September 30 when a 6.9 magnitude hit the country in which 74 people died and thousands were displaced in central province of Cebu.