The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) updated its data on the strong earthquake that hit Northern Samar Monday morning, downgrading its magnitude to 5.7 from 6.0 as initially reported.
The tremor, which was tectonic in origin, struck the municipality of Pambujan at 11:39 AM with a depth of focus measured at 54 kilometers.
Based on its latest earthquake bulletin, Phivolcs said the quake was felt with intensities ranging from levels 2 to 5 in parts of Northern Samar as well as neighboring provinces of Sorsogon, Albay, Catanduanes, Masbate, Leyte and Southern Leyte.
The agency said it expects no damage from this seismic agency, but aftershocks are expected. As an archipelago, the Philippines is frequently struck by earthquakes, considering its geographic location in the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Most tremors are two weak to be felt by humans, but strong and destructive earthquakes come at random, which can only be monitored and not predicted. –With Rex Espiritu
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated. Originally posted with the headline “Magnitude-6.0 quake strikes Northern Samar.”
