One dead in strong Philippines quake

MANILA (AFP) Nov 19, 2003
A five-year-old child was killed by a falling wall when an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale hit the island of Samar in the eastern Philippines early Wednesday, officials said.

The child was killed in the town of Can-avid, which was worst hit by the quake, and where at least one school was damaged extensively.

The Hong Kong Observatory and the Philippine seismology institute both reported the tremor at 1:18 am (1718 GMT Tuesday), with its epicentre 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Manila.

Disaster relief officials said families living along coastal areas were evacuated to higher ground because of fears that the quake would cause tidal waves. A major road in the town of Taft was also blocked by a landslide.

TERRA.WIRE