Quake rocks Batanes

Map shows the epicenter of Tuesday night’s quake off Basco, Batanes. SCREENGRAB FROM PHIVOLCS WEBSITE

The province of Batanes swayed to a magnitude 4 quake Tuesday night, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.

The temblor struck 75 kilometers under the sea southwest of the capital town of Basco at 7:21 p.m.

Tectonic in origin or caused by the movement of the earth’s crust at a depth of 26 kilometers, the earthquake was not expected to cause damage or have aftershocks, the Phivolcs website showed.

It was the fourth quake to occur in Philippine territory in as many days since May 2.

The first one that struck was a 4.8-magnitude quake recorded in the province of Sultan Kudarat on May 2. It was followed by a magnitude-4.1 temblor measured in Surigao del Norte a day later. The third was at 4.1 magnitude that occurred Tuesday morning. CB