After the severe earthquake in the north of the Philippines, the death toll has risen to six. Four people were still missing and more than 130 were injured, the island state's civil protection said on Friday. The epicenter of Wednesday's magnitude 7 quake was in the province of Abra in the north of the island of Luzon, about 335 kilometers north of the capital Manila.
The extent of the damage is slowly becoming clear: more than 1,500 buildings, including schools and hospitals, were said to have been damaged. The authorities put the damage to the infrastructure at a total of 48.3 million Philippine pesos (775,000 euros).
Almost 80,000 people are affected and more than 7,000 have had to flee their homes. Many have taken shelter in emergency shelters. The military sent soldiers to the region to help distribute aid.
Most of the dead and injured were hit by falling parts of buildings, landslides and falling rocks. The tremors were felt even in distant Manila.
The Philippines lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire - the most geologically active zone on earth. The last violent 7.1 magnitude earthquake in 2013 killed 220 people in the center of the country. In July 1990, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed more than 2,400 people on the island of Luzon.
