Dazed survivors of a pair of major earthquakes in the southern Philippines awoke on Saturday to scenes of devastation, after hundreds of aftershocks rocked the region overnight.
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Many coastal residents of Mindanao island had slept outdoors, fearful of being crushed to death by aftershocks of the 7.4 and 6.7 magnitude quakes that struck off the coast within hours of each other on Friday.
Philippine authorities said at least eight people were killed but they were still assessing the extent of the damage.
In Manay, a Mindanao municipality of 40,000, people were removing debris and sweeping up broken glass from homes and other buildings on Saturday morning.
“Our small house and our small store were destroyed,” resident Ven Lupogan said. “We have nowhere to sleep. There’s no electricity. We have nothing to eat.”
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The destruction came less than two weeks after a 6.9-magnitude quake struck the central Philippine island of Cebu, killing 75 people and wrecking about 72,000 houses.