Mild quake shakes Surigao del Sur

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – A tectonic earthquake – the 17th to hit Mindanao this month – shook Tandag, Surigao del Sur, at 8:44 a.m. Saturday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

Phivolcs said no damage was expected from the magnitude 2.1 quake, whose epicenter was located 45 kilometers southeast of Tandag.

No aftershocks were expected, Phivolcs said, describing the earthquake as a shallow one.

On Friday afternoon, a magnitude-3.6 quake occurred near General Luna on Siargao Island. It also was tectonic in origin.

Since the start of the month, Phivolcs said it has recorded 17 quakes in Mindanao, most of them in the Surigao area.

The strongest quake recorded in Mindanao this month occurred at sea some155 kilometers off General Santos City on Friday, which registered a magnitude of 5.2.

No damage was reported from the quake and no tsunami warning was issued.

The Philippines sits within the so-called ring of fire, where continental plates regularly collide, causing jolts. Some earthquakes are too weak to be felt but others cause massive damage.