DIGOS CITY, Philippines – Earthquakes jolt parts of Central Mindanao for the second consecutive day, although Sunday’s two tremors were relatively weak than Saturday’s.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on its website said Sunday’s first earthquake that affected Kidapawan City and nearby areas was recorded at 12:13 a.m. with a magnitude of 3.1 (a minor earthquake). The 12:13 a.m. tremor was traced 26 kilometers southwest of Kidapawan City and had a depth of 20 kilometers.
At 12:37 a.m., another tremor – that occurred 17 kilometers southwest of Kidapawan City – was recorded. With a magnitude of 3.4, it was felt in the city at Intensity III (many people indoors would feel the shaking but not people outside). It was shallower than the previous one at 12 kilometers.
Phivolcs said no aftershocks or damage were expected in these earthquakes, unlike the previous day’s, when 15 houses made of light materials were destroyed and more than three dozen other structures – including a chapel – were damaged in Makilala, North Cotabato.
The quakes that rocked Kidapawan City and other areas of North Cotabato, and nearby areas in Sultan Kudarat and Davao del Sur provinces were all tectonic in origin, including Saturday’s more than a dozen jolts.
It was not clear what triggered the earthquakes as of yet, but the epicenters were located between two local faults that sandwiched the affected areas.
Earthquakes are a normal occurrence in the Philippines, which sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire.
Dozens of earthquakes are recorded in the country each week but others are too weak to be felt.
One of the worst earthquakes that happened in the country was the August 16, 1976 magnitude 7.9 tremor that triggered a tsunami. It killed between 5,000 and 8,000 people in the Moro Gulf region that included Cotabato City and Pagadian City.
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