Magnitude 8.0 earthquake forecast a hoax – NDRRMC

MANILA,  Philippines – The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Tuesday night warned that the circulating text messages about a forthcoming magnitude 8.0 earthquake are a hoax.

“Napag-alaman ng OCD-NDRRMC na may lumaganap na text messages patungkol sa 8.0 magnitude na lindol. Nais naming ipahayag na ang mga nasabing text messages ay hoax lamang at walang katotohanan (It has come to our attention at the OCD-NDRRMC that there are circulating text messages about a supposedly upcoming 8.0 magnitude earthquake. We’d like to inform the public that those text messages are a hoax),” the NDRRMC said in a statement.

It said that it is only using the account “NDRRMC” when sending out mobile alerts and not other phone numbers.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology earlier stressed that no technology to predict earthquakes has so far been developed.

It also urged the public to avoid liking and sharing similar posts on social media.

Nevertheless, they should stay alert and prepared for natural disasters and calamities.

Parts of Luzon continue to experience aftershocks after a magnitude 6.1 magnitude earthquake Monday afternoon. /gsg