CBCP head asks prayer after strong quake hits Visayas

THE head of the Catholic bishops’ leadership has asked the people to join him in praying after a strong earthquake in the Visayas killed 43 people and destroyed properties.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, urged the faithful to pray for those who have died and to be spiritually close to those who were affected.

“Let’s continue to pray that God will continue to protect us,” said Archbishop Palma over Manila archdiocese-run Radyo Veritas.

The government urged citizens to “remain calm and watchful” and to cooperate with local officials after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit Negros Oriental and affected nearby provinces.

The death toll has reached at least 43 people, according to the military.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council head Benito Ramos said most of the dead were children pinned down by collapsed walls or fence.

Reports say around 30 people are missing after landslides buried many houses.

The earthquake struck at 11:49 am. A level 2 tsunami alert was issued but was later lifted.

Three more powerful quakes jolted the Negros area Monday night, seven hours after the first earthquake, whose epicenter was traced to 5 km northwest of Tayasan in Negros Oriental.

The quake hit in a narrow strait between the heavily populated island provinces of Negros and Cebu, causing buildings to collapse, cracking roads and bridges, and shutting down the power supply.

In Cebu city, a popular tourist destination and city of 2.3 million, hotel guests scrambled to higher floors as unfounded rumors that a huge tsunami was bearing down spread by text message.

At least 29 were killed by landslides while 10 others were crushed by collapsing buildings in the mountainous town of Guihulngan in Negros, said regional military official Colonel Francisco Patrimonio.

There was also an undetermined number of wounded, he added.

Report from ucanews.com, CBCPNews, Philippine News Agency and GMA News Online