NO one was reported killed or injured and no major damage to infrastructure was reported due to the 6.1 magnitude earthquake that struck Davao Occidental on Saturday, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said yesterday.
The quake, tectonic in origin, was initially reported by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) as a magnitude 6.9. The agency later downgraded it to magnitude 6.1.
It occurred at 7:07 a.m. with the epicenter located some 93 km southeast of Sarangani Island in Sarangani town, Davao Occidental, said Phivolcs. It had a depth of 85 km.
The shaking was felt at Intensity V (strong) in Sarangani, Santa Maria, and Malita towns, all in Davao Occidental; Pantukan town in Davao de Oro, and Malungon town in Sarangani province.
In an interview with radio DzBB, OCD administrator Ariel Nepomuceno, who is also the concurrent executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said there were no landslides reported.
He said the ground in Mindanao and Visayas has been softened by rains due to the southwest monsoon and the intertropical convergence zone over the past days.
“If such earthquakes strike (in areas after days of rain), the fear is that there will be landslides. So far, none have been reported to us,” said Nepocureno.
The shaking was felt at Intensity V in Sarangani, Santa Maria, and Malita towns, all in Davao Occidental; Pantukan town in Davao de Oro, and Malungon town in Sarangani province.
It was also felt at Intensity IV (moderately strong) in Compostela, Monkayo, and Montevista towns in Davao de Oro; Malalag and Santa Cruz towns in Davao del Sur; Davao City; Don Marcelino and Jose Abad Santos towns in Davao Occidental; Banaybanay and Governor Generoso towns in Davao Oriental; Alabel, Kiamba and Malapatan towns in Sarangani province; Koronadal City and and Tupi town in South Cotabato and General Santos City.
