No Filipino hurt in Alaska quake: DFA

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato said Saturday the Department of Foreign Affairs continues to monitor the situation in Alaska. (File Photo By Patrick Roque, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

MANILA — No Filipino was reported injured in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that rattled Anchorage, Alaska on Friday.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato said Saturday the Department of Foreign Affairs continues to monitor the situation in Alaska.

The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, which has jurisdiction over Alaska, said it is in close coordination with leaders of the Filipino Community in Anchorage and has already requested the Department of State’s Office of Foreign Missions for information on Filipinos impacted by the tremor.

The earthquake struck an area 7.

5 miles north of the city at about 8:30 a.m. local time on Friday, causing damage to homes and buildings and other infrastructure, including roads and bridges.

According to Consul General Henry Bersurto, Filipinos make up 52 percent of Alaska’s Asian and Pacific Islander population and represent the largest racial minority in Anchorage.

An estimated 25,000 members of the Filipino Community are in Alaska.

While an earlier tsunami alert was cancelled, the Filipino Community has been advised to brace for more aftershocks and to stay in safe shelters and avoid unnecessary road travel.