Landslides still possible in quake-hit Leyte —PHIVOLCS chief

Landslides in rain-soaked hillsides and mountainous areas in earthquake-shaken Leyte are still possible amid aftershocks from the magnitude-6.5 shaker that hit the province on Thursday afternoon. 

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) director Renato Solidum told dzBB on Friday morning that aftershocks are expected, and advised residents in affected areas to take extra precaution.

"Posible ang mga landslide sa mga nayanig na lupa lalo na sa madalas ang pag-ulan ... lumalambot ang lupa, Solidum said, adding that, "may maaasahan pang aftershocks sanhi ng lindol kahapon." 

The Phivolcs has recorded a total of 241 aftershocks overnight that residents of Ormoc City are fearing for their safety.

"Oo kasi 'yung mga aftershocks [na] 'yan—mga intensity 3, intensity 4—so nararamdaman pa rin ng mga tao until kaninang mga 5:15 a.m. Meron pa rin tayong nararamdaman na mga aftershocks dito sa Ormoc," Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez said in an interview on GMA News' Unang Balita on Friday.

No tsunami threat

Meanwhile, Solidum reiterated that there is no threat of a tsunami as the epicenter of the quake was on land.

"Hindi dapat kinansela ang sea travels kahapon dahil wala namang banta ng tsunami," he said.

The sea travel ban that was imposed shortly after the quake struck on Thursday has been lifted.

Casualties, power outage

At least one person was reported killed as the two-storey Queda commercial building in Kananga, Leyte collapsed.

Elsewhere, a second fatality from a landslide.

All told, some 138 patients were confined in different hospitals due to injuries from the quake.

The quake also triggered a power outage in the province's capital of Tacloban City and in Ormoc City after it  struck 8 kilometers southwest of the town of Jaro at a depth of 2 kilometers beneath the island.

It was felt at intensity V in Tacloban City and Palo, Leyte, and even as far as Cebu City.—LBG/KG, GMA News