16 hurt, 23 houses damaged in 5.2 quake in Bukidnon

TAGUM CITY, Philippines—At least 16 people were injured and several homes damaged following Monday’s strong earthquake that hit Bukidnon province, authorities said Tuesday.

Ten persons still remain in hospitals due to injuries sustained after the 5.2-magnitude quake shook Bukidnon province around 5:40 p.m. Monday, said Arsenio Alagenio, provincial disaster coordinating council chief.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in its bulletin said the earthquake was tectonic in origin and was traced some 32 kilometers west of the provincial capital, Malaybalay City, with the epicenter just a kilometer deep.

The quake’s shallow nature accounted for the intense shaking on the surface that resulted to damage to structures.

At least 23 houses either collapsed or sustained damages while three shopping centers also sustained cracks or light damages, said Major Eugenio Julio Osias IV, spokesperson of the 4th Infantry Division.

“We are still assessing the exact cost of the damage caused by the quake,” Alagenio told the Inquirer in a text message.

Local officials also reported landslides in nearby areas, although a social worker in nearby Malaybalay said the quake was barely felt in their area and did not cause any damage.

The quake was felt at Intensity III in Malaybalay and Quezon town, also in Bukidnon; Intensity II in Cagayan de Oro City and Intensity I in the island-province of Camiguin, according to Phivolcs.

The US Geological Survey placed the quake at magnitude 5.

Officials said the quake resulted in overturned furniture, collapsed roofing and panicked residents rushing out of their homes. A power blackout also occurred right after the quake but electricity was restored by 7 p.m. Monday, according to a separate bulletin issued by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Tuesday morning.