2 quakes rock Masbate

NAGA CITY, Philippines— Two earthquakes 15 minutes apart shook Masbate anew  Saturday afternoon.

The first quake, with a magnitude of 3.1, occurred at about 3:19 p.m., followed by a magnitude 2.8 tremor temblor at 3:30 p.m.,  the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology said  in a bulletin posted on its Web site.

The epicenter of the first quake was located at about  23 kilometers west of Masbate City while that of the following tremor was located 17 kilometers south of the city, the provincial capital of Masbate.

Phivolcs said the two quakes were aftershocks of the magnitude 5.2 quake that hit Masbate City on Monday and caused the collapse of a two-storey building. The quake also damaged at least 20 other structures and injured at least eight persons.