A magnitude-5.8 tremor struck San Francisco in Southern Leyte on Thursday morning, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). It occurred at 7:39 a.m. at a depth of 14 kilometers.
It was tectonic in origin with reported intensities in the following areas: Padre Burgos (Intensity 5); Hinunangan and Maasin (Intensity 4); Palo, Dulag, Ormoc City, Carigara in Leyte (Intensity 3).
Damage to properties and aftershocks are expected from this seismic event, Phivolcs said. It has earlier measured the quake at magnitude-5.9, but revised it as further updates were received.
The state seismic agency noted additional intensities in areas outside of the Leyte provinces, including parts of Cebu, Capiz, Misamis Oriental, Samar and Surigao del Norte.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake was 25 kilometers deep. It left cracks on buildings and houses, according to an Agence France Presse (AFP) report.
San Francisco town rescuer Roxanne Sandoval told AFP there were no immediate reports of casualties, but “huge” cracks were observed on the walls of their municipal building.
“It was a strong shake that lasted up to one minute,” Sandoval said. “I thought it was just a strong wind, but then I felt the ground and it was as if it was spinning.”
Sandoval said a team was deployed to check the severity of damage to roads and houses reported by residents.
Quakes are a daily occurrence in 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.
Last night, a strong earthquake also shook parts of Surigao del Norte. The tremor was measured at magnitude-4.5 and located 14 kilometers southeast of General Luna at 23 kilometers deep.
Intensities 2 to 4 were reported across the following municipalities: General Luna, San Isidro, Dapa, Santa Monica, and Claver. There was no reported damage from this quake but aftershocks were expected. —With AFP