Damage after 5.6 magnitude quake in Occidental Mindoro estimated at P208K

CITY OF CALAPAN — Some houses in Sablayan town in Occidental Mindoro province incurred an estimated P208,000 worth of damage due to a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that hit at 5:59 a.m. on Sunday morning, the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office (MDRRMO) said.

The quake, which was initially reported by the Philippine Institute on Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) as having a 5.3 magnitude, was felt at intensity V in the town.

“Five houses were partially damaged, [but] no one was injured,” Acris Canillo, MDRRMO head, said in a phone interview. The houses are in Zone 5 of Barangay (village) San Agustin, said the MDRRMO’s report.

Residents felt the three quakes that shook them – first at 4:55 a.m., then at 5:59 a.m., and 7 a.m. – on Sunday.

There were about 14 aftershocks, said Canillo.

The Phivolcs said the epicenter of the earthquake was traced 5 kilometers northeast of Sablayan town.

It was tectonic in origin and had a depth of focus of three kilometers.