2 quakes rock southern Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines — Two earthquakes jolted southern Mindanao on Sunday, sending people out of their houses, malls and buildings and reviving memories of the series of tremors that displaced thousands in Davao del Sur and Cotabato provinces in 2019.

A 6.3-magnitude quake struck at 12:22 p.m. with its epicenter tracked 6 kilometers southeast of Magsaysay town, Davao del Sur. Barely five hours earlier, a 4.8-magnitude quake was recorded 9 km west of Magsaysay town at 7:28 a.m.

Both were tectonic in origin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported.

Magsaysay Mayor Arthur Davin expressed relief that no damage had been reported so far. The town is still struggling to rebuild its municipal hall, which was damaged by the series of quakes two years ago, he said.

‘Thank God’

“We really felt its strength because we were at the epicenter, but so far, there was no reported damage, yet, thank God,” Davin told the Inquirer by phone.

Magsaysay, which lies along the border of Davao del Sur and Cotabato, experienced successive quakes which displaced thousands of families in 2019.

More than 600 families have already been relocated to the new housing sites, Davin said. The remaining 1,400 families may be moved before the year-end, he added.

He said the local government targeted to finish retrofitting works of its damaged municipal hall building by July or August this year.

The municipal hall building was first damaged during the 6.3-magnitude quake on Oct. 16, 2019. It was further battered by temblors of 6.1 and 6.6 magnitude on Oct. 29, and of 6.5 magnitude on Oct. 31.

—Germelina Lacorte