Strong quake injures dozens in northern Philippines

A strong earthquake has rocked a large swathe of the northern Philippines, injuring at least 26 people and forcing the closure of an intern...

A strong earthquake has rocked a large swathe of the northern Philippines, injuring at least 26 people and forcing the closure of an international airport and the evacuation of patients in a hospital, officials said.

According to international media, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Tuesday night’s magnitude 6.4 quake, which was set off by movement in a local fault, was centred 9 kilometres (5 miles) northwest of Lagayan town in Abra province at a depth of 11 kilometres (7 miles).

The quake was felt across a wide area of the main northern Luzon region, including in some parts of metropolitan Manila, more than 400 kilometres (248 miles) south of Abra.

At least 26 people were injured in Ilocos Norte, the home province of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., where the international airport in the capital city of Laoag was ordered to close temporarily on Wednesday due to damage from the quake, police and civil aviation officials said.