5.5-magnitude tremor jolts Quezon town

LUCENA CITY—A 5.5-magnitude earthquake hit the island town of Jomalig in Quezon province on Thursday morning but disaster response officials did not receive reports of casualties.

Melchor Avenilla, head of provincial disaster risk reduction and management council, said reports reaching his office indicated that roads, bridges and private property were not damaged by the ground shaking and there was no report of power interruption in the province after the quake hit at 4:52 a.m.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake’s epicenter was plotted at 13 kilometers northeast of Jomalig. It was felt in parts of Metro Manila and the provinces of Pampanga, Camarines Norte and Batangas. —DELFIN T. MALLARI JR.