People walk past the damaged Church of San Pedro in the town Loboc, Bohol after a major 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the region Photo: GETTY IMAGES
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck in the central Philippines on Tuesday morning, collapsing roofs and buildings, cracking walls and roads and killing at least six people.
The quake was centred 56 kilometres (35 miles) deep below Carmen town on Bohol Island and was felt across the region.
Radio station DZMM quoted civil defence officials as saying that four people died when part of a fish port collapsed in nearby Cebu city, across the strait from Bohol.
Two more people died and 19 were injured when the roof of a market in Mandaue in Cebu province collapsed, according to TV reports. People rushed out of buildings and homes, including hospitals as aftershocks continued.
Photos from Cebu broadcast on TV stations showed a fallen concrete 2-story building, and reports said two people were pulled alive, including an 8-month-old baby.
Bohol Gov. Edgardo Chatto said that a church was reported damaged in the provincial capital of Tagbilaran and a part of the city hall collapsed, injuring one person.
A 17th-century stone church in Loboc town, southwest of Carmen, crumbled to pieces, with nearly half of it reduced to rubble. Other old churches dating from the Spanish colonial period, which are common in the central region, also reported damage.
Tuesday is a national holiday and that may have reduced casualties because schools and offices are closed.
Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”
Cebu province, about 570 kilometres (350 miles) south of Manila, has a population of more than 2.6 million people. Nearby Bohol has 1.2 million people and is popular among foreigners because of its beach and island resorts.（ChinaDaily）
新闻资讯：
在15日周二早上，菲律宾中部发生7.2级地震，建筑物倒塌，道路和墙壁开裂，造成至少六人死亡。
地震中心位于保和岛(Bohol Island)卡门镇（Carmen）地下56公里，在整个地区能明显感觉到震动。
广播电台DZMM援引国防官员的话称，在保和岛对岸的宿雾市（Cebu）部分渔民港口倒塌，造成四人死亡。
根据电视报道，宿雾省曼达威市（Mandaue）的一家市场建筑倒塌，造成两人死亡，19人受伤。余震还在继续，市民纷纷从楼房，住宅以及医院中逃出来。
从宿雾电视广播电台公布的图片显示一个二层混凝土大楼倒塌，而报道称，成功救出两人，其中还有一个八个月大的婴儿。
保和州长艾德加多· 查托(Edgardo Chatto)称，有报告称保和（Tagbilaran）首府塔比拉兰教堂受灾，部分市政厅倒塌并导致一人受伤。
在卡门西南方的罗博镇（Loboc），一个17世纪的石垒教堂几乎成了一片废墟，只剩残垣断壁。其他在中部地区常见的西班牙殖民时期建造的老教堂也遭毁严重。
由于周二是国庆节，政府与学校都放假，这也一定程度上减少了人员伤亡。
菲律宾地处环太平洋地震带，经常发生地震。
宿雾省距离马尼拉南部大约570公里，人口超过260万。附近的保和有120万人口，因为海滩和岛屿度假村，保和深受外国游客喜爱。
