Phivolcs denies rumored 7.1 quake in Metro Manila

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has disowned a text message that a magnitude 7.1 magnitude earthquake may strike Metro Manila soon.

“Nais naming ipabatid sa publiko na hindi nanggaling sa DOST-PHIVOLCS ang mensahe na ito at walang sapat na basehan para maglabas ng warning ang aming tanggapan tungkol sa isang nalalapit na malakas na lindol (The text message is not from DOST-Phivolcs.  There is no basis for the warning),”  Phivolcs said in a statement on Tuesday.

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The message appeared in the wake of a 6.1 magnitude earthquake that jolted Metro Manila and parts of Luzon Monday afternoon.

Phivolcs said there is no technology that can predict where earthquakes can occur.

“Sa kasalukuyan, wala pang teknolohiya sa buong mundo na maaring malaman kung kailan maaaring maganap ang isang malakas na lindol (There is still no technology worldwide that can predict an earthquake),” Phivolcs added.

The agency also urged the public to stop spreading the false information online.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) echoed Phivolcs’ appeal and stressed that the public must confirm information with reliable authorities.

“We are reminding everyone to always stay on the look out for false news and verify any information being spread on the Internet to reliable authorities,” DICT said in a separate statement. /gsg