6.8 Quake Does Minor Damage in Philippines

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 hit the northern Philippines, rocking much of the main island of Luzon early today and seriously injuring several people, officials said.

Here in the capital, buildings swayed dramatically, knocking objects off tables and shelves. Power was out in parts of the city and surrounding areas. Walls cracked, electricity failed and people rushed from their beds into the streets.

Rescue teams were placed on alert, but damage appeared minor and no deaths were immediately reported.

Bruce Presgrave, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., said the earthquake measured 6.8 in intensity and was centered near the west coast of Luzon Island, about 110 miles northwest of Manila.

The 26-second quake struck at 2:03 a.m., the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported.

A 13-year-old boy sleeping in a public market in Iba in Zambales province was seriously injured when a steel roof beam fell on him, officials said.

In Manila, a crane toppled off the seventh floor of a building under construction, Mayor Jose L. Atienza Jr. said. Its operator was slightly injured.

The quake was felt in provinces from Ilocos Norte in northern Luzon to Quezon in the south.

It was the second power failure in two days in Manila. On Friday night, most of Luzon was without electricity for several hours. Power companies blamed jellyfish that were sucked into a cooling system.