A magnitude 6.1 earthquake rocks the central Philippines on Thursday. The local seismological agency is warning of aftershocks and possible damage.
The earthquake struck off Masbate province at 2 am when most of the population was asleep. The centre of the quake was 11 kilometres from the nearest village, Miaga, in the municipality of Uson. Shallow earthquakes often cause more damage than bigger ones. authorities have not issued a tsunami warning.
Earthquakes are widespread in the Philippines as it is one of the countries that sit on the ring of fire, an arch of seismic and volcanic activity stretching through east Asia. Most are too weak to be felt by humans, but powerful and destructive ones arrive with no technology to predict when and where they will strike. The damage from the quake is not known yet.
In other news, it has been over a week since a 7.8 magnitude hit Syria and turkey, and rescues say they might be going into recovery mode because it will be hard to find any survivors in the rubble.
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Thirty-six thousand people died due to the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria. A week after a devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck the two countries, rescuers are desperate to find survivors who are still trapped beneath the rubble.
Despite stories of survivors flooding the airwaves, rescuers say the chances of rescuing more people alive from the rubble are decreasing with each passing day because temperatures have dropped below negative six degrees, and the severity of the collapsed buildings makes reaching those who may still be alive under the rubble extremely difficult.
Syria, on the other hand, has been severely impacted. The country has endured decades of conflict and is currently in a highly delicate state to handle the repercussions of a significant quake.
The United Nations is in talks with Turkey to open more border crossings into Syria to deliver humanitarian aid and equipment.
