NAGA CITY, Philippines—Residents of Masbate province felt an earthquake early Saturday evening, the Philippine National Police in the island province said.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said in a report on its Web site that the quake occurred at 6:09 p.m. and had a magnitude of 2.7 with an epicenter 16 kilometers south of provincial capital Masbate City and a depth of 5 kilometers.
On Thursday, a tremor was also felt on the island at 1:58 a.m. Phivolcs said the Thursday quake had a magnitude of 2.9 and originated some 9 kilometers north of the provincial capital at a depth of 9 kilometers.
Phivolcs said the quakes were tectonic in nature.
The Philippine Fault, which runs from the Ilocos region to the Davao Gulf, passes right through Masbate Pass, the body of water that separates the islands of Masbate and Ticao, two of the three islands that compose Masbate province.