Magnitude 6.3 quake shakes southern Tagalog area

PHOTO: Screengrab from Google Maps

Classes at all levels in public and private schools were suspended in the town of Calatagan in Batangas, Bacoor City in Cavite and the whole of Laguna as a precaution after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck four kilometers southwest of Calatagan at 10:19 a.m. on Thursday.

No casualty or major damage was reported in the aftermath of the quake, which forced Metro Manila’s three light rail systems to temporarily halt operations and sent Palace employees rushing out of their offices wearing hard hats and clutching emergency “go bags.”

At the Laging Handa briefing, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Director Teresito Bacolcol, told reporters that the quake of tectonic origin was also felt at Intensity 4 in Manila, Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Malolos, parts of Batangas such as Batangas City, Ibaan, Lemery, Nasugbu and Talisay, as well as Dasmariñas City and Tagaytay in Cavite and Tanay in Rizal.

In an advisory, Calatagan Mayor Peter Oliver Palacio suspended all classes in the town at 11:35 a.m. to allow an assessment of the quake’s effects on schools, public buildings, and other critical infrastructure.

Ongoing inspections

Dan Badong, public information officer of the Calatagan disaster risk reduction and management office, said in a phone interview that the tremor, which lasted around 30 seconds, left no casualty or any major damage, causing just “minor cracks” in some school buildings and government office although inspections were still ongoing.

He added that they have yet to receive reports about any damage to houses or injuries to residents from the town’s 25 barangays.

In an advisory, Assistant Transportation Secretary Jorjette Aquino, also the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT 3) officer in charge, said that after the quake, cracks were detected at Boni Station in Mandaluyong City and Ayala Station in Makati City, but they do not “pose any danger to the public and MRT 3 operations.”

—WITH REPORTS FROM JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT, JANE BAUTISTA AND REUTERS

READ: Magnitude 6.3 earthquake hits Calatagan, Batangas; tremor felt in Metro Manila