Magnitude 6.2 quake hits Western Visayas

ILOILO CITY, Iloilo — A 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook Western Visayas 4:47 a.m. yesterday, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

No casualties or damage to property had been reported.

The tremor, felt in Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique and Negros Island, was tectonic in origin.

In the latest Phivolcs update, its epicenter was located 83 km south of Cauayan town in Negros Occidental.

Thirty aftershocks were felt in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental. Sipalay Mayor Oscar Montilla said residents in the low-lying areas as well as those living along the shorelines moved to higher ground and to pre-designated evacuation centers to avoid a possible tsunami.

He said the city government had trained people where to go in case of earthquakes as a precaution against tsunami in a city facing the Sulu Sea.

The residents, however, had started returning home, said Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr.

No tsunami alert was raised but classes in Sipalay had been suspended.

Rey Antioquia of Phivolcs in Capiz said the earthquake was felt at Intensity 2 in Antique and at Intensity 3 in Capiz.

The earthquake occurred about six hours before President Benigno Aquino III was scheduled to visit Aklan and Capiz. He was scheduled to arrive in the capital town of Kalibo at 10 a.m. to distribute cash subsidies and grants for a feeding program for pre-schoolers, elderly and indigents in the province.

From Kalibo, Aquino would take a helicopter to the capital city of Roxas in Capiz to also give similar subsidies and cash grants. He was also scheduled to arrive at 1 p.m. in Roxas, his first visit to the province since he was elected into office in 2010. /INQUIRER