Quakes jolt Bicol provinces

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NAGA CITY—Residents of Masbate City was jolted by an earthquake Thursday evening, the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the island-province said.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the shallow quake had a magnitude of 5.1 and was felt at Intensity 4 in Masbate City, Intensity 3 in Sorsogon and Intensity 2 in Legazpi City at 9:41 p.m., all in the Bicol region.

An Intensity 4 quake means most people indoors feel the movement and is strong enough to make hanging objects swing and rattle dishes. An Intensity 3 quake means many people indoors may feel the movement but the quake is hardly felt outside.  Intensity 2 quake means people at rest would feel the movement.

It originated from 23 kilometers south of Masbate City from a depth of 7 km, Phivolcs said.

Another quake was earlier felt in Catanduanes, also in Bicol, at about 7:35 p.m. on Thursday. Phivolcs said the magnitude 3.7 tremor had its epicenter 104 kilometers north of Virac town. The quake had a depth of 12 km.

On Wednesday afternoon, a magnitude-2.5 quake also shook Camarines Sur in Bicol. The origin of the quake, Phivolcs said, was 2 kilometers north of Ragay town from a depth of 6 km. It was felt at Intensity 2 in Quezon province.

Phivolcs said the quakes were tectonic in nature.

The Philippine Fault, which runs from the Ilocos region to the Davao Gulf, passes right through Masbate Pass, the body of water that separates the islands of Masbate and Ticao, two of the three islands that compose Masbate province.