THE Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) belied Wednesday, July 8, reports circulating through SMS and social media networks about an "impending earthquake" that will affect Taguig and other areas in Luzon.
The earthquake, according to reports on social media and SMS, will occur between July 27 to July 29, and the source is allegedly "a friend's cousin in Philvolcs [sic]...in charge of d land monitoring."
But Phivolcs said it has no "land monitoring" division and does not issue official predictions of an impending earthquake.
"At present, the science of earthquake prediction has not yet matured to the point that imminent earthquakes can be predicted [time, location and size of earthquakes] using a rational model. There is no technology in the world that can reliably predict the occurrence of earthquakes," it said in a Facebook post Wednesday.
The agency said the public should not panic, as the report has questionable sources and lacks scientific evidence to support its claims.
"It obviously seeks to deceive and create panic among the recipients of this hoax message so that it would be forwarded to relatives and friends," it added.
Phivolcs advised the public to "completely ignore and delete this and other similar messages and avoid forwarding its content."
It said the agency remains committed to providing accurate, reliable and timely information regarding earthquake occurrences and its possible effects to the Philippines. (LMY/Sunnex)