One Dead, Dozens Injured As 6.

6 Magnitude Quake Hits Philippines

The shallow quake struck southeast of Masbate Island in the Bicol region at 8:03 am (0003
GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

Cataingan, Philippines: At least one person was killed and dozens injured when a 6.6-
magnitude earthquake shook the central Philippines on Tuesday, sending residents fleeing their homes
and damaging buildings and roads.The shallow quake struck southeast of Masbate Island in the Bicol
region at 8:03 am (0003 GMT), the US Geological Survey said."There are a lot of damaged houses," said
Staff Sergeant Antonio Clemente in Cataingan, a town of about 50,000 people on the impoverished island
several kilometres west of the epicentre in the Samar Sea."It was really strong."Local radio station
reporter Christopher Decamon said he saw emergency workers pull the body of a man from the rubble of
a three-storey house on the outskirts of Cataingan. The man's wife escaped unharmed.The earthquake
"was really strong. Our people were broadcasting at the time but they just ran out of the building,"
Decamon told AFP by telephone.

Police confirmed the man's death and said 18 people were also injured in the town. But mayor Felipe
Cabatana told CNN Philippines about 48 were hurt, most of them hit by falling shelves and furniture inside
their homes.

"I thought it was the end of the world," said Cabatana referring to the quake's strength.

In nearby Palanas, at least 27 people were injured after being hit by falling objects or when their
motorbikes crashed as the ground moved in the town, Chris Adique, a municipal disaster officer, told
DZBB radio.

None were in a critical condition, he added.

Search and rescue efforts were still underway in the region.

The quake struck as the archipelago battles surging numbers of coronavirus infections, with more than
169,000 cases and restrictions on movement that vary across the country.A lockdown affecting a quarter
of the population, including the capital Manila, will be eased Wednesday.Cabatana said between 5,000
and 6,000 people would spend the night sleeping outside in Cataingan because emergency shelters were
being used as COVID-19 quarantine centres, some of which were also damaged in the quake."Our most
urgent concern is temporary shelter because our funds have run out having been allocated for COVID,"
he said.The government said help would be made available.