No tsunami threat after N. Cotabato quake – Phivolcs

MANILA, Philippines — There’s no threat of a tsunami following the magnitude 6.3 quake that hit North Cotabato on Wednesday night, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

The quake was of tectonic origin. So there’s no threat of a tsunami, according to Department of Science and Technology Undersecretary Renato Solidum Jr., who is also Phivolcs director.

“The earthquake happened on land,” Solidum, speaking in Filipino, said in an interview with radio station DZMM when asked if a tsunami warning would be issued.

He said, however, that aftershocks were to be expected. Though aftershocks are usually weaker than the primary quake, stronger quakes remain a possibility, he added.

According to Solidum, an earthquake with a magnitude ranging from 6 to 6.9 would be categorized as “moderately strong” and one with a magnitude of 7 and above would be categorized as “major.”

/atm