32,000 Displaced by Philippine Quake   06/09 09:41

   

   GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines (AP) -- Rescuers searched ruined buildings in 
the southern Philippines on Tuesday to ensure no one was still trapped a day 
after one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the country in a half-century 
killed at least 37 people and displaced more than 32,000.

   Only four people were considered missing on official records in the southern 
provinces near where the 7.8 magnitude quake struck Monday morning, but the 
Office of Civil Defense acknowledged several collapsed and heavily damaged 
buildings must be thoroughly inspected for possible survivors or casualties.

   The earthquake centered off Mindanao, the second most populous Philippine 
island, injured nearly 500 people and displaced more than 32,000, most of whom 
fled to emergency shelters.

   Many people who left their homes feared a tsunami. Waves up to 1.4-meters 
(4.6-feet) above tide level were measured in the Philippines, but the only 
tsunami damage reported was to six shanties on stilts in a coastal village. 
Smaller waves washed ashore in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern 
Japan.

   Landslides and building collapses caused several deaths

   The earthquake left a trail of destruction, including in General Santos, a 
lively coastal city of more than 700,000 people known as the country's tuna 
capital, where at least 13 people were killed in collapsed buildings and due to 
falling debris.

   At least 18 died in Sarangani province, mostly in a landslide that buried 
houses in the mountainside town of Glan, according to Rafaelito Alejandro of 
the Office of Civil Defense.

   The other deaths were reported in the southern provinces of South Cotabato 
and Davao Occidental, and on Balut Island, disaster response officials said.

   About 2,500 houses and 117 government buildings and facilities were damaged 
in several provinces, according to an initial government damage assessment. The 
international airport in General Santos remained shut for a second day, forcing 
the cancellation of 63 domestic flights except for those on humanitarian 
missions.

   About 6,000 public school buildings in quake-hit provinces must be assessed 
before classes can resume. The quake struck on the first day of classes 
nationwide after a two-month summer break, and many who sustained injuries were 
young students who had gathered with excitement for morning flag-raising 
ceremonies.

   Authorities have warned that buildings that sustained cracks could collapse 
due to aftershocks, some of them dangerously powerful.

   "We cannot force the immediate reopening of schools because we have to 
ensure the integrity of the buildings," Alejandro said.

   It was the strongest Philippine quake since 1976

   Monday's earthquake was centered at sea at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 
miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani 
province.

   It was set off by movement in the Cotabato Trench and was the strongest 
since the same undersea depression triggered an 8.1-magnitude quake that 
whipped up tsunami waves on Aug. 17, 1976, said Teresito Bacolcol, the director 
of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

   About 8,000 people died from that quake and tsunami waves of up to 8 to 10 
meters (26 to 33 feet) that engulfed several towns and provinces, Bacolcol said.

   The Philippine seismological institute was scheduled to commemorate the 
anniversary of the 1976 quake and tsunami in August by installing markers to 
remind vulnerable towns and cities of the need for constant vigilance, Bacolcol 
told The Associated Press.

   A 1990 earthquake that also had a magnitude of 7.8 left more than 1,000 
people dead, injured thousands and caused extensive damages in northern 
provinces and cities.

   President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. deployed top defense-mitigation officials 
from Manila to help oversee search and rescue, the distribution of tens of 
thousands of food packs and construction materials to quake victims and assess 
damage to bridges, roads and other infrastructure.

   The United States, a treaty ally of the Philippines, said it was 
coordinating with Manila and was ready to support Philippine response efforts. 
France, Japan and New Zealand also expressed support.

   The Philippines is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to 
its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic faults around the 
ocean.

   The archipelago is also battered by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms 
each year, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.