5.4 quake jolts Central Mindanao
MANILA, Philippines — A 5.4 magnitude earthquake rocked parts of central Mindanao early Friday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the 1:32 a.m. (1732 GMT) tremor, the epicenter of which was located 65 kilometers west of Koronadal, the capital of South Cotabato province, Philvocs chief Renato Solidum said.
The US Geological Survey put the magnitude at 5.2 and struck at a depth of 27.5 kilometers.
Intensity 4 was felt in the towns of Banga, Surallah, Sto. Niño, Norala, Tebuli, Tambakan, Polomolok, Tupi, Taktakan, and Pantangan, and Lake Sebu in South Cotabato.
Intensity 3 was felt in Palembang town, Sultan Kudarat province, while Intensity 2 was felt in the cities of General Santos and Cotabato, where a magnitude 7 earthquake in 1976 triggered a tsunami and killed thousands of people.
“This is a tectonic earthquake and it is not related to the Aurora quakes,” Solidum said in a text message.
Solidum was referring to the string of tremors or “earthquake swarm” in Aurora province in the northwest and nearby provinces, which started last week, and was caused by the movement of the East Luzon Trough in the Pacific Ocean.
The quake was the second moderate tremor that hit Mindanao this week according to the USGS.
On Thursday, another undersea quake, measuring 4.8 magnitude, struck 140 kilometers southeast of Davao.
The Philippines sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates collide causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. With Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindana
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