Residents of Northern Samar evacuated

ILOILO CITY—Northern Samar Gov. Paul Daza has ordered the evacuation of residents along the coastal areas following a strong earthquake that hit the Visayas Friday evening.

Daza said the evacuation will continue until the tsunami alert issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) is lifted.

Residents in coastal areas in Southern Leyte were also alerted and ordered to evacuate from their houses because of the tsunami warning following the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that struck at 8:47 p.m.

Some residents of Catarman town in Northern Samar have already evacuated to higher grounds.

An undetermined number of residents of three barangays within the 1,500-hectare campus of the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) in Catarman have started to leave their homes towards elevated areas in the campus. Some of the residents brought their personal belongings.

The state-run UEP is along the coast facing the Pacific Ocean.

The epicenter of the magnitude 7.6 earthquake was located at 93 km east of Barangay Sulangan, Guiuan town in Eastern Samar, according to the United States Geological Survey’ (USGS).

There has been no report of casualties and major damage as of 10:53 pm.

The earthquake which lasted for more than a minute sent people out of their homes in Iloilo City, Catarman and Maasin City in Southern Leyte. The tremor also stopped vehicles in the streets.

Electric supply was disrupted for around 15 minutes in Catarman and Maasin following the earthquake.

Southern Leyte Gov. Damian Mercado has also ordered the provincial disaster risk management council to alert residents along the coastal areas in the province.

A wall of an old building in Maasin collapsed during the tremor. Authorities were still monitoring the extent of the damage.

The earthquake was felt in Iloilo City, many towns of Iloilo province, Capiz, Negros Occidental and Antique.

Tables, chairs and other furniture were visibly moving during the tremor. Many residents also went out of their homes and vehicles stopped in the streets. With reports from Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Rachel Arnaiz, Jani Arnaiz and Carla P. Gomez, Inquirer Visayas