At Least 4 Dead As Quakes Shake Northern Philippine Isles

MANILA, Philippines (AP) – Two strong earthquakes hours apart measuring 5.4 and 5.9 have struck a group of sparsely populated islands in the Luzon Strait in the northern Philippines, killing at least four people and injuring several others. An initial police report from the Batanes Islands says four died and nine were injured. Itbayat town Mayor Raul de Sagon is quoted by the state-run Philippine Information Agency as saying five people died. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quakes early Saturday measured 5.4 and 5.9. The Philippine seismology agency says the second quake measured 6.4. Itbayat has a population of about 2,800 people and lies in the Luzon Strait that separates the Philippines and Taiwan.