Quakes rock north Luzon, Dinagat isle

ILAGAN, Isabela—A magnitude-5.5 earthquake shook this capital town in northern Luzon at 9:08 Saturday night but no one was hurt, reports from local authorities said.

Less than two hours later, at 10:56 p.m., a magnitude-4.5 hit Dinagat Island off the southern island of Mindanao.

The tremor in Ilagan was strong enough to create some panic, sending some residents running out of their homes and some patients taking refuge outside a hospital.

Ernesto Agnir, science researcher at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) station in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte, said the quake’s epicenter was located 5 km northeast of Ilagan, Isabela.

It was felt at Intensity 5 in Ilagan; Intensity 4 in Tuguegarao City and Peñablanca in Cagayan, in Quirino and Tumauini in Isabela, and in Baler, Aurora. Residents in Baguio City and Tabuk City in Kalinga felt the quake at Intensity two.

Eight aftershocks

The earthquake was followed by eight mild aftershocks, whose magnitudes ranged from 2.1 to 3.4, from 10:12 p.m. Saturday to 9:25 a.m. Sunday.

An inspection by the provincial engineering office and police and health officials yesterday showed that some sections of the government-run Faustino Dy Memorial Hospital suffered minor cracks on its concrete walls.

Some 50 patients were forced to remain in the hospital’s lobby as authorities checked the second and third floors to ensure the building’s stability.

In Ilocos Norte, Agnir said his station recorded a magnitude 3.9 earthquake 118 km northwest of Pasuquin town at 8:28 p.m., before the Isabela quake struck, also on Saturday.

Down south, Phivolcs said the epicenter of the magnitude-4.5 quake was 10 km northwest of Loreto, Dinagat Island. It was felt at intensity 1 in Surigao City. No one was reported hurt. With reports from Cristina Arzadon, Inquirer Northern Luzon; Kristine Alave and Inquirer Mindanao