Thursday, November 08, 2007 Earthquake hits Cebu, Bohol, scares some people but damage minimal, initial reports say
AN intensity 4 earthquake shook Cebu at 12:12 p.m. yesterday while in Bohol it was intensity 5.
No damage to property was reported, though, said seismic observer Robinson Jorgio of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvolcs) based in Lapu-Lapu City.
The epicenter of the earthquake of tectonic origin was traced offshore, about five kilometers from Jagna, Bohol and west of Anda, Bohol.
The area has an active offshore fault, Philvolcs-Manila research specialist Ismael Narag said in a radio dyLA interview.
17 years ago
Narag said the people holding office or residing in high-rise buildings felt the earthquake more.
Narag, who is also the officer-in-charge of Philvolcs’ seismology division, said this offshore fault also caused a strong earthquake in Bohol in 1990.
The tremor was also followed by a tsunami but no casualties were reported.
Philvolcs continues to monitor the situation, but Narag said a tsunami is a remote possibility because yesterday’s earthquake had a low intensity.
Quakes that reach intensity 6 are the ones that cause damage or destruction, he said.
Stand by
Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna requested all emergency and disaster-related offices in Mandaue City to be on call.
The offices are the Emergency Medical Services, Department of General Services, City Engineering Office, the police, Bureau of Fire and Protection and Accident Control and Emergency Rescue Team.
Philvolcs, which is under the Department of Science and Technology, also recorded an intensity 4 tremor in Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City and intensity 3 in Lapu-Lapu City.
Intensity 5 was felt in Hibok-Hibok, Camiguin; intensity 4 in Tagbilaran City; intensity 3 in Cagayan de Oro City and Maasin, Southern Leyte; intensity 2 in the cities of Butuan, Dipolog and Surigao and Manukan town, Zamboanga del Norte; and intensity 1 in Dumaguete City and Masbate.
Although it is difficult to predict when earthquakes will happen, Narag warned that more tremors will occur because of the offshore fault in the southern part of Bohol.
“Right now, we are closely monitoring earth movement,” Narag said. (EOB/With OCP)
