5.9-quake strikes near Zambales

OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines—Many residents rushed outside their houses when they felt the ground shaking at 3:32 a.m. on Sunday in San Antonio, Zambales, said Erwell Sadernas, barangay (village) chair of Pundaquit.

“The tremor was strong enough to rouse almost all us here from sleep. Since we live near the sea, instinct prompted us to rush outside our homes and find a safe place,” he said.

The earthquake measured magnitude 5.9 (with 1 the lowest and 10 the highest), according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Since the epicenter was located 30 kilometers southwest of San Antonio, tremors were felt at Intensity 5 in the towns of San Antonio, Botolan, Subic, San Felipe and San Narciso and Olongapo City in Zambales province.

Sadernas said that despite the ground shaking in their coastal village, the earthquake did not leave cracks on their walls.

The tremor was followed by a 2.3-magnitude earthquake at 5:08 a.m., also in San Antonio, the Phivolcs said. That earthquake’s epicenter was 20 km southwest of the town.

Gracela Macabare, head of the Zambales Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said her office had not received reports of any earthquake-related damage in the province on Sunday.

Macabare said residents of San Antonio did not report any damage to their houses or government and private structures in the town.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said its power transmission services remained normal despite the earthquake.

“The Luzon grid remains intact as there has been no reported cases of power interruptions or damaged transmission facilities in Zambales, Bataan and nearby areas where the earthquake was felt,” the NGCP said in a statement.

Strong intensity

Describing the severity of the shaking, with Intensity 10 as “completely devastating,” Phivolcs said an Intensity 5 earthquake was “strong.”

The earthquake was felt at Intensity 4 or “moderately strong” in Pateros, Pasig, Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Parañaque, Malabon and Pasay cities in Metro Manila.

It was also felt at Intensity 4 in San Mateo, Binangonan and Montalban in Rizal; Hagonoy and Obando in Bulacan; Dagupan City and Lingayen in Pangasinan; Indang and Kawit in Cavite; Bacolor, Angeles City and Clark, Pampanga; Mariveles in Bataan; and Pakil and Los Baños in Laguna.

Other areas that felt the earthquake at Intensity 3 were Tagaytay City; San Miguel, Tarlac; Baler, Aurora; Gapan, Nueva Ecija; and Santa Barbara, Pangasinan.

The earthquake was felt at Intensity 2 or was only slightly felt in Baguio City, Batangas City and Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro.

Phivolcs said the earthquake did not generate strong waves off Zambales.

Rockslide kills hiker

Recently, a boulder the size of a car fell from a cliff on Capones Island in San Antonio and killed a hiker.

Local authorities said a tremor that shook the cliff on Dec. 31 could have caused a section to collapse.

With another earthquake striking San Antonio, Sadernas said he would ask town officials to warn tourists against going to the area on Capones Island where the rock slide happened on Jan. 1.–Reports from Allan Macatuno, Tonette Orejas and Anselmo Roque, Inquirer Central Luzon; and Dona Z. Pazzibugan in Manila