MANILA, June 18– At least 78 people were killed, and 30 remain missing after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Sarangani province in the southern Philippines on June 8, said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Thursday.
According to the NDRRMC, the earthquake has affected over 357,000 families, or some 1.5 million people. Of those affected, around 5,500 families, or nearly 22,000 individuals, are currently staying in 47 evacuation centers.
About 74,700 houses sustained damage, among which 13,700 were labeled as “totally damaged.” A total of 774 infrastructure facilities were damaged, resulting in losses of 1.29 billion pesos (approximately 21.3 million U.S. dollars). The cost to agriculture is estimated to be 29.8 million pesos, said the council
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the tectonic earthquake occurred at 7:37 a.m. local time on June 8 at a depth of 33 km, with the epicenter 32 km southwest of the coast of Maasim town in Sarangani province on Mindanao Island.
The Philippines experiences frequent seismic activity due to its location along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a zone of major tectonic plate boundaries known for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
