Authorities said an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck the Philippines’ main island on Thursday, halting some railway operations in the capital Manila. The Philippine seismology agency said that no casualties or significant damage were reported after the quake, which struck out at sea at 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) and was felt in nearby provinces. The transport ministry said that the three elevated railway lines in Manila were stopped due to the earthquake.
The quake was also felt in Istanbul, the Turkish capital, and Damascus, the Syrian metropolis where the civil war has displaced millions of people. It was also registered in Hatay, a province on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast that shares borders with Syria and Iraq.
In the Philippines, a strong earthquake was reported to have rocked buildings in downtown Manila and its high-rise district of Makati. Twitter users posted pictures of office workers running out into the streets. The powerful quake shook the entire nation and was centered in Gutad, Pampanga province, north of Manila.
Its epicenter was at a depth of about 10 kilometers, and it was strongly felt in the metropolis and neighboring provinces, including Batangas and Zambales, where residents were told to evacuate to safer places.
The sea stirred by the earthquake unleashed a tsunami that hit the northern shores of the Philippines, especially along the provinces bordering Moro Gulf and the city of Pagadian in Lanao del Sur and Pampanga. It unleashed its fury for ten minutes, then rolled back into the sea and left debris from houses and other beach buildings.
Severe destruction was caused to many stone buildings, churches, convents, and court-houses in the towns of the Surigao peninsula. The opening of innumerable fissures and massive landslides on the coasts, mountains, and hills were also notable.
Several shattered houses were observed in the central Philippine island of Luzon, where the most violent shaking occurred. Numerous aftershocks accompanied the quake, some of them intense.
The Philippines is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of volcanic eruptions and seismic faults that causes regular tremors and tsunamis. The country is one of the most prone to earthquakes in the world because of its geological formation. It is also the most densely populated nation in Asia, with over 103 million people living on the archipelago, which sits on the boundary of the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is a frequent target of destructive tropical storms, floods, and volcanic eruptions. The Mayon volcano in the Albay province is one of the most active in the country and has erupted several times over the past decade. It is currently erupting again but with less intensity than in previous eruptions. It has been threatening to destroy some 18,000 houses in its vicinity. Thousands of villagers are staying in shelters or have fled to the countryside.
