Quake jolts Baguio, stirs mild panic

Quake jolts Baguio, stirs mild panic

MANILA (Reuter): An earthquake jolted the mountain city of Baguio in the northern Philippines yesterday, sending panicky residents running into the streets but there were no casualties or damage, police said.

The 3:23 p.m. (0723 GMT) tremor registered a magnitude of 4.5 on the Richter scale and was centered 11 kilometers southwest of the city, seismologists said.

Baguio was among areas devastated by a 7.8 magnitude quake in July 1990 that killed more than 1,500 in the mountainous region.

Baguio deputy police chief James Dogao said dozens of people ran out of buildings when yesterday's quake struck.

"People may have already developed a phobia for these things because of what happened in 1990," he said.