Outdoor hospitals, shaken communities as Philippine quake toll rises
Doctors treated patients in tents set up under a scorching Philippine sun on June 9, as the death toll from a major earthquake that collapsed buildings and sparked tsunami warnings topped 40.
Thousands remained displaced and more than 450 injured following the magnitude-7.8 quake that struck off the southern island of Mindanao on June 8, according to national and local disaster agencies, though only four people were now believed missing.
In hardest-hit Sarangani province, some areas remain accessible only by helicopter and fears of aftershocks were slowing rescue efforts, local officials told reporters at a briefing on June 9.
“There are still aftershocks, so the rescuers are very cautious in their approach. That’s a challenge,” said regional civil defense chief Rodrigo Sosmena.A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, while hundreds of tiny quakes followed.
