INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines —Two strong quakes with magnitudes of 5.9 and 5.6 again jolted Davao de Oro within an interval of just three hours on Tuesday, March 7, sending people out of their homes and buildings and causing some injuries.
In Davao del Norte, a child was slightly injured when hit by falling debris in Barangay Magugpo West, Tagum City as the magnitude 5.9 quake, with epicenter 13 kilometers northwest of Maragusan town, was felt at Intensity V in the city, according to reports from the Davao del Norte Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Office and the Philippine Information Agency.
In Tagum City proper, people hurriedly ran out of buildings and into the streets.
In Maragusan town, patients and watchers at the Davao de Oro Provincial Hospital were evacuated to an open field.
The PIA in Davao de Oro showed photos of canned goods and other dry grocery items scattered on the floor in one of the stores of New Bataan town after they fell off the shelves during the quake while in Masara village of Maco town.
Employees of a mining firm evacuated after a minor landslide reportedly occurred in the area, according to mining employee Jovanie Salise.
The magnitude 5.9 earthquake (degraded by Phivolcs from 6.2), which had a depth of focus of 34 km., was felt at Intensity V in Nabunturan, the provincial capital.
Barely three hours after the 2:02 p.m. quake, a magnitude 5.6 quake (downgraded from 5.9), again sent people scampering out of houses and buildings here.
Phivolcs traced the epicenter of the second strong quake 33 km southwest of New Bataan town of Davao de Oro. It had a depth of focus of 11 km., and was felt at Intensity IV in Monkayo town of Davao de Oro and Tagum City of Davao del Norte; at Intensity III in Davao City; and at Intensity II in Don Marcelino, Davao Occidental.
The quake was also recorded at the following instrumental Intensities:
- V – Nabunturan in Davao de Oro
- III – Malungon in Sarangani
- II – Davao City in Davao Del Sur, Don Marcelino in Davao Occidental, Tupi in South Cotabato
- I – Kadingilan, Malaybalay, Talakag in Bukidnon; Magpet and Kidapawan City in Cotabato; Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental; Alabel in Sarangani; Suralla, Koronadal City, and Norala in South Cotabato; Columbio in Sultan Kudarat; Bislig City in Surigao del Sur
The quakes on Tuesday came a day after two light and moderate earthquakes occurred in New Bataan town and caused the highway along Sitio Shadol of the town’s Barangay Andap to collapse and cut the link with nearby Maragusan town.
The magnitude 4.9 quake that occurred past 12 a.m. on Monday, March 6, was an aftershock of the magnitude 6 quake that shook Davao de Oro on Feb. 1 and caused some damage to the provincial hospital building in Montevista town.
In its primer on the magnitude-6 quake that struck Davao de Oro on Feb. 1, Phivolcs explained that they considered Davao de Oro as one of the seismically active regions in the country because of the presence of several active faults that include the East Compostela Valley, the West Compostela Valley, the Central Compostela Valley, Nabunturan, Caraga River, and the Mati segments of the Philippine Fault.
Aside from this, there are also other nearby local faults, some of which may be covered by recent deposits that could be the sources of weak to strong quakes.