No casualty, damage reported in Batangas town quake

SAN PEDRO CITY—Officials of Batangas province on Thursday (Oct. 29) reported no damage or casualty after a series of quakes in the town of Mabini.

Lito Castro, chief of the Batangas Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the quakes were different from those in 2017 earthquake swarm that was longer-lasting and of higher magnitudes.

In a phone interview, Castro said the Mabini disaster risk reduction council reported no “untoward incident” during the quake.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded a magnitude 5 earthquake in Mabini at 1:25 p.m. Another tremblor, recorded at 2.3 magnitude, struck two minutes after. At 3:23 p.m., a 4.4 magnitude quake hit the town again.

Gerville Luistro, Mabini municipal administrator, on a Facebook post, asked residents to stay safe.

“We are faced with a pandemic, typhoon, and now, (an) earthquake,” she said.

Mabini, a popular diving town, was hit badly by Typhoon “Quinta” last Monday, which damaged several diving boats just when tourism was picking up since the coronavirus lockdown began in March.

TSB