A MAGNITUDE 5.9 earthquake yesterday rocked Lubang, Occidental Mindoro and was felt in Metro Manila, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.
Phivolcs director Teresito Bacolcol said the quake originated from the Manila Trench.
“We would expect aftershocks… We are not expecting damage because it’s quite deep,” he said.
The quake, which was tectonic in origin, occurred at 4:23 p.m. Its epicenter was some 18 km northeast of Lubang. It had a depth of 60 km, Phivolcs said.
Shaking was felt at Intensity V in Lubang, and Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro.
It was felt at Intensity IV in Makati City, Quezon City, Taguig City in Metro Manila; Malolos City, Meycauayan City, Obando, and Plaridel in Bulacan; Floridablanca in Pampanga; San Jose in Batangas; and Tagaytay City in Cavite.
Caloocan City, and Pasig City in Metro Manila; Cuenca and Talisay in Batangas, Bacoor City and General Trias City in Cavite; Rodriguez in Rizal; and Mamburao in Occidental Mindoro experienced the shaking at Intensity III.
Other areas felt the shaking at Intensity II and I.
Lubang Mayor Michael Orayani said he was in his office at town hall at the time of the earthquake.
“The shaking was strong, it lasted for more than five seconds,” he said.
Orayani also said engineering teams were dispatched to conduct damage assessment.
He said the municipal building, built in 2020, did not incur any damage.
“We are not expecting any (damage). Our engineering teams are going around. We also advised our barangays to check their area. So far there are no reported (damage),” he said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said over 100,000 families from the Davao and Caraga regions had been affected by the 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur over the weekend, with close to 600 families displaced.
The DSWD-Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center said 100,174 families or 399,765 persons from 274 barangays in the two regions had been affected, with 584 families or 1791 persons displaced.
Eight families (28 persons) are staying in an evacuation center in Region XI (Davao) and 576 families (1,763 persons) are staying with friends or relatives. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
