5.5 magnitude quake jolts Bicol provinces

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 jolted the provinces of Catanduanes, Sorsogon and Albay on Saturday  morning but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Instruments of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded the earthquake at 8:27   a.m. Its epicenter was located  62 kilometers southeast of Virac, the capital of Catanduanes, Phivolcs said.

Ed Laguerta, Phivolcs resident volcanologist, said the quake was felt at intensity 3 in Baras, Catanduanes, intensity 2 in Sorsogon and intensity 1 in Irosin and Legazpi City.

Laguerta said the earthquake was of tectonic origin, which means the quake was triggered by the movement of the earth’s crust.

The quake rocked the Bicol area for about a 1.8 seconds but no one was reported injured and it did not cause any  damage to private and public structures, he said.