Earthquake of magnitude 6.5 strikes off Surigao del Sur
Guests in a hotel in downtown Davao City rushed out of their rooms early Saturday morning as the earth shook for at least five seconds.
The shaking was traced to a magnitude 6.5 tremor that struck 67 km off the coasts of Lingig, Surigao del Sur at 6:23 a.m. on Saturday.
The earthquake was also felt in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities in northern Mindanao.
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According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the quake had a depth of 10 km and was reported at Intensity V in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur.
The state seismologist said no damage was expected from the temblor although it warned that aftershocks are possible.
The United States Geological Survey, meanwhile, said the shallow earthquake was at 6.8-magnitude, and that it hit 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the village of Barcelona on the east of Mindanao island.
It did not trigger a tsunami alert, according to the US Tsunami Warning System and Phivolcs.
In Lingig municipality, where Barcelona is located, local disaster officer Ian Onsing said he was woken by the shaking.
“The shaking was quite strong. The things around here were moving. I guess, the shaking took around 10-15 seconds,” Onsing told Agence France-Presse by telephone.
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“I’m not expecting any more damages, but we will go around the area again around 8:00 am just to be sure,” he said.
“So far, there are no reported casualties or damages. We are now monitoring the shores for any rough movement.”
In the municipality of Hinatuan, about 25 kilometers north of Barcelona, local disaster officer Jerome Ramirez saw appliances “moving for around 30 seconds” from the strong shaking.
Ramirez said there had been no reports of injuries or damage in coastal communities in the area.
“Now we are just monitoring for possible aftershocks,” Ramirez told Agence France-Presse by telephone.
Earthquakes regularly strike the Philippines, which sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of intense seismic and volcanic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
Most are too weak to be felt by humans but strong and destructive quakes come at random with no technology available to predict when and where they will happen.
In December, a 7.6-magnitude quake struck off Mindanao, briefly triggering a tsunami warning.
That sent residents along the east coast of the island fleeing buildings, evacuating a hospital and seeking higher ground.