NO DAMAGE or casualties have been reported following a 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Southern Luzon and Metro Manila Thursday, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said.
As of this posting Thursday, Glenn Rabonza, NDCC executive director, said an inspection of vital structures on Lubang Island, Occidental Mindoro, where the quake was felt strongest, was ongoing.
“Office of Civil Defense Regions III (Central Luzon), IV-A (Calabarzon), IV-B (Mimaropa), and National Capital Region (NCR) are now coordinating with the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council agencies and the Civil Defense Deputized Coordinators in PDCCs with reported intensity to monitor any possible effects,” the NDCC said.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the tectonic quake was located 27 kilometers west of Lubang Island and 135 kilometers southwest of Manila. It had a shallow depth of 11 kilometers.
The quake was felt at intensity 5 in Looc, Lubang Island in Occidental Mindoro; intensity 4 in Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Clark, Pampanga; and intensity 2 in Bagac, Bataan and Canlubang, Laguna, Phivolcs said.
A separate monitoring from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) puts the quake at magnitude 6.1 with a depth of 72.4 kilometers.
Phivolcs said the public should expect aftershocks although the quake is not expected to generate tsunamis because “it was not too strong."
Earlier, Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said a tsunami is likely if a quake is at magnitude 6.5 to 7.0.
The Philippines sits on the “Pacific Ring of Fire” where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
About 20 earthquakes hit the country everyday but only a few are felt. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)