Quake Kills 4,Destroys Fish Port

At least four persons died when a portion of the 27-year old Fish Port Market in Barangay Suba Pasil, Cebu City collapsed after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Cebu City early morning on Tuesday.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the magnitude as 7.4.

When the powerful quake hit Cebu City at past 8 o’clock in the morning, the weak foundation of the bungalow-type market building that is situated in the shoreline of Barangay Suba collapsed.

Initial report said the fatalities in that accident were identified as Leona Cabarrubias, Randy Bondoc, a certain Berto and an unidentified body of a woman. Aside from the casualties, another woman was reported injured.

Several buildings in Cebu City and in the nearby cities of Lapu-lapu, Mandaue and Talisay, including public school buildings, sustained damage like cracks on its walls and floors.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvocs) announced that the center of the strong quake was recorded in Carmen, Bohol around 8:12 am as a result of a tectonic origin.

Philvocs said the quake was also felt in the nearby provinces of Bohol, with intensity 6 noted in Tagbilaran City and Negros Occidental, intensity 5 in Iloilo City; intensity 4 in La Carlota City, intensity 4 in Masbate, Roxas City; San Jose, Culasi, Antique; Guihulngan and Negros Oriental, then and intensity 3 was also felt in Davao City.

A Church in Loboc, Bohol was destroyed by the quake, although nobody was reported killed or injured.

Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella said he will suggest that a team from the Office of the Building Officials (OBO) will be created to check the high rise structures in the city.

Cebu City public schools superintendent Rhea Mar Angtud said there will be no classes in all public elementary and high schools in the city on Wednesday while the officials would check the structural integrity of the school buildings.

Mayor Rama, for his part, said he will ask the help of the private engineers to check and ensure the integrity of the buildings.

In Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), the departure and arrival of airplanes were suspended while the airport technical personnel are still checking of any cracks in the runway.

Meanwhile, reports also said the quake was felt in Iloilo, causing motorists to stop their vehicles and prompted many people to run out of buildings. A brownout also hit the area after the quake while construction workers at a construction site in Mandurriao, Iloilo quickly left the site when they felt the quake.

Reports added that classes in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental province were suspended on Wednesday to allow an inspection of the schools there.

The quake struck at a depth of about 35 km (22 miles) around Bohol island, to the north of Mindanao island. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of pacific wide tsunami after the quake.