Building collapses, 8 hurt as earthquake hits Masbate

Windows were shattered, an abandoned building collapsed and people rushed out of homes, offices and schools in a scene a mayor likened to a street fiesta but with “everyone anxious and panicky” as a 5.2-magnitude quake struck Masbate City on Tuesday.

The quake, according to volcanologists, was triggered by the same fault line responsible for the 1990 earthquake that all but obliterated Baguio City.

“It happened close to the surface,” said Joan Salcedo, of the Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

“The Philippine fault has many segments and one of its segments moved,” she said.

The 1,200-km fault line, which extends from Luzon to Mindanao, triggered the 7.9-magnitude  quake that killed hundreds in Baguio City and other parts of Central Luzon in 1990. On Tuesday, the fault line moved again to trigger the Masbate quake, according to Phivolcs.

Socrates Tuason, mayor of Masbate City, said he and his wife were having breakfast at home when the quake struck. His wife ran outside like everyone did in his neighborhood, said Tuason.

When he went to City Hall, Tuason said the scene was repeated many times over—people, including schoolchildren, scampering for safety in the streets.

“It was like a fiesta. It was like there was a parade and everyone was watching,” said Tuason. “But everyone was anxious and panicky.”

Tuason said an abandoned building near the shore, a three-story structure in the village of Bapor, collapsed. A commercial building on Quezon Street in the city downtown suffered heavy damages, he said.

Masbate disaster officials said at least eight persons were wounded by falling debris from at least 20 buildings that suffered damages due to the quake.

Aside from Masbate City, the quake also struck Sorsogon and Albay past 7 a.m., according to Ed Laguerta, resident Phivolcs volcanologist in Bicol.

According to Salcedo, the origin of the quake was just 23 km below the surface. No tsunami warning has been raised, however, she said.

Mayor Tuason said residents felt at least five aftershocks past 8 a.m. He said he ordered classes suspended in all levels.

Electricity was cut off in parts of the city, he said.

Government workers cordoned off a commercial building and a hospital that bore cracks.