Earthquake rocks Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Albay

LEGAZPI CITY—An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 rocked the provinces of Catanduanes, Sorsogon and Albay on Saturday morning, said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Phivolcs said the quake struck at about 8:27 a.m. with its epicenter traced to Virac, the capital of Catanduanes.

Ed Laguerta, resident volcanologist of Phivolcs, said the agency’s instruments located the epicenter of the earthquake at 62 kilometers southeast of Virac with a depth of less than a kilometer.

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 1.8 seconds but no one was reported injured and it did not cause any damage to private and public structures, he said.

The Philippines has several active fault lines and dozens of quakes hit the country every day although most are too weak to be felt.