A major earthquake with Magnitude 7.0 shook northwestern Luzon on July 27, 2022 at 08:43 AM Philippine Standard Time. The epicenter was located at 17.64°N, 120.63°E - about 2 km from Strutz Art Garden Resort and had a depth of 17 kilometers (PHIVOLCS, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology). As of this writing, this is 5 days after the main earthquake, aftershocks are still shaking buildings, some of them are very strong. An aftershock last night had a magnitude of 5.2. The earthquake was terrifying for all of us here in Strutz Art Garden Resort. Fortunately, nobody got hurt and the buildings remain intact. Although the damages in most of Bangued seem to be limited, some buildings were hard hit and are rendered unusable. The president of the Philippines, Bongbong Marcos, flew to Bangued immediate after the earthquake and ordered assistance. Especially residents on the countryside are afraid to go back to their houses, due to the hundreds of aftershocks and continuing danger of landslides aggravated by heavy rains (It is rainy season now). Strutz Art Garden Resort has since been used by TV news crews and NGO members who are reporting and bringing help in face of this calamity.
