CEBU CITY (Updated 12: 45 p.m.) -- A magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook areas in Mindanao Saturday morning, an official of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
In a radio interview, Director Renato Solidum said the preliminary data gathered by Phivolcs showed that the earthquake occurred exactly 6:08 a.m. Saturday.
As of 7 a.m. Saturday, Solidum said the earthquake registered an intensity of two in Surigao del Sur and General Santos City.
Meanwhile, in a television report, Phivolcs reported that two tremors happened at around 7 a.m. The epicenters of the magnitude 6.7 (second) and magnitude 7.1 (third) earthquakes were at the southwest of Cotabato City.
In Butuan and Surigao cities, the second earthquake was felt at Intensity 2.
The third earthquake was felt in Tanjay and San Carlos cities in Negros Oriental province at Intensity 4; in General Santos City, Lingin town in Surigao del Sur province, San Jose and Hamtic towns in Antique province, and Irosin and Sorsogon City in Sorsogon province at Intensity 3; and in Cotabato, Kidapawan, Dipolog, Tacloban, Davao, Legaspi, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Dumaguete, Manila, and Antipolo cities at Intensity 2.
Solidum also has allayed fears of tsunami occurrence saying that despite the almost magnitude seven quake, the epicenter was very deep.
"Ang importante, masyadong malalim and source ng lindol kaya hindi mapaminsala (The epicenter of the earthquake is very deep that it will not be damaging)," said Solidum.
No damage has been reported yet, said Solidum. (Sunnex)
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