(UPDATE 3) Strong quake jolts Catanduanes
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 22:39:00 03/03/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- A 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook Catanduanes island at 10:11 p.m. on Monday, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology put the preliminary magnitude at 6.5 and traced its epicenter off the central Philippine province of Northern Samar.
The undersea tremor struck 175 kilometers east-southeast of Pandan, in the province of Catanduanes at a depth of 24.2 kilometers, the USGS said.
"We have not received any reports of damage but we are monitoring," a seismologist at Phivolcs said.
Jerry Gabion, Office of the Civil Defense support staff said damage was expected but they were still waiting for reports as of midnight.
Alex Baloloy, science research analyst of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Bicol, said the quake, which was tectonic in origin was the second to hit Bicol following the magnitude 4.2 quake on March 1.
Varying intensities were felt, mostly on the eastern seaboard and in the Bicol region, Phivolcs said.
The earthquake was strongest in Iriga City at Intensity 5 and Legazpi City at Intensity 4.
The quake was felt at Intensity 3 in parts of Camarines Norte, Tacloban City in Leyte, parts of Eastern Samar and Iloilo City, and Intensity 2 in Masbate.
Baloloy said quakes tended to be stronger in areas with softer ground like Legazpi City, a coastal area.
He said that at Intensity 4 and 5, the quake could be felt when seated and can rouse people from sleep.
In Virac, Catanduanes, provincial disaster coordinating officials here said on Monday night that they had not yet monitored casualties or infrastructure damage.
Residents here woke up to a strong 15-second earthquake at past 10 p.m. and they spent the next hour waiting for a bigger earthquake to follow.
In Leyte province there were unconfirmed reports of a power outage.
Officials at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was little risk of a tsunami, but issued a routine watch for large wave activity in the area.
The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone where tectonic plates collide causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon Bureau, with reports from Fernan Gianan, Inquirer, Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press
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