STRONG QUAKE JOLTS LUZON, HIT ZAMBALES SUNDAY
MORNING
[PHOTO -Epicenter: 15.58°N,
119.38°E - 080 km S 90° W of Candelaria (Zambales) .
PHILVOLCS]
OLONGAPO, JUNE 19, 2012 (INQUIRER)
Masses were briefly disrupted and residents in central and northern
Luzon were roused from sleep as a magnitude-6 earthquake hit Zambales on Sunday
morning.
The US Geological Survey put its magnitude at 6.1, adding that it struck 182
kilometers northwest of Manila.
The epicenter of the quake, which jolted northwestern Luzon at 6:18 a.m., was
located 52 kilometers southwest of Candelaria, Zambales, the Philippine
Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.
Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum said it was most possibly caused by movement in
the Manila Trench in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) off Zambales
province.
Solidum said the quake was not strong enough to generate a tsunami alert.
Earlier, at 1:18 a.m., Baguio City was shaken by a magnitude-3.8 earthquake
with an epicenter traced at 5 km northwest of La Trinidad, Benguet.
Central Luzon officials and the regional police did not report any damage to
roads, bridges, irrigation dikes, houses and buildings in the region as of
Sunday morning, Josefina Timoteo, director of the Office of Civil Defense in the
region said, citing reports from disaster risk reduction and management
councils.
Residents in coastal villages in Candelaria town, where the earthquake was
felt at Intensity 4, did not panic when the earthquake struck, she said. The
quake was also felt at Intensity 4 in Iba, Zambales.
Timoteo said Candelaria Mayor Jean Moraña described the quake as "quite
strong."
Graciela Macabare, head of the provincial disaster risk reduction and
management council in Zambales, said no damage or injury was reported from the
earthquake that lasted only about 30 seconds.
"It's good that it didn't last long. If it did, it might have caused damage,"
Macabare said by telephone.
She said three aftershocks followed. These quakes, with magnitudes measuring
between 3 and 3.3, struck at 6:37, 6:49 and 7:05 Sunday morning.
"We are continually monitoring the situation from the provincial capitol but
so far, there are negative reports of damage or injury," Macabare said.
She said the province's disaster response team was activated when the quake
struck. "We also called the mayor of Candelaria and checked their coastline. The
(quake was strong), but the aftershocks lasted longer," she said.
Catholic priests in central Luzon said early morning Masses were briefly
disrupted as Mass goers noticed the ground shaking.
Arnel Suba, 40, a resident of Mabalacat, Pampanga, said his first reaction
was for him and his wife to run outside their house. "But the earthquake stopped
before we were able to go outside," he said.
Coleen Cunanan, a high school student, also from Mabalacat, said the
earthquake awakened her family.
"I thought I was dreaming but then I heard my parents saying that there was
an earthquake. I got out of bed but it stopped after a while," she said.
The quake was felt at Intensity 4 in Makati City; Intensity 3 in Quezon City;
Intensity 2 in Bacoor, Cavite; and Intensity 1 in Tagaytay City. It also shook
Manila, Pasay City and Pateros, according to a report by Radyo Inquirer 990AM.
In Pangasinan, the earthquake was felt at Intensity 4 in Dagupan City and the
towns of Bolinao, Villasis and Bugallon; Intensity 3 in San Fernando City, La
Union; and Intensity 2 in Plaridel, Bulacan; and Bacoor, Cavite; and Intensity 1
in Tagaytay City.
"Any earthquake felt in a very large area is tectonic," Dr. Renato Solidum,
Phivolcs chief, said, referring to the movement of the earth's plates.
Sunday's quake was the ninth that struck Zambales since January, Phivolcs
records showed.
Intensity 4 means most people indoors could feel the shaking and hanging
objects would sway and some objects in the house would rattle. The earthquake is
strong enough to rock parked cars and some people might feel the movement
outdoors.
Intensity 3 means many people indoors would feel the movement and hanging
objects would be seen swaying. Intensity 2 means a few people would feel the
shaking if they are indoors and on the upper floors of a building.
Intensity 1 means people hardly feel anything.
In 1990, a magnitude-7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people in the northern
Luzon region.
The Philippines sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates
collide causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
For updates, listen to Radyo Inquirer 990AM.—Reports from Tonette Orejas,
Robert Gonzaga and Jun Malig, Inquirer Central Luzon, and Gabriel Cardinoza,
Inquirer Northern Luzon; Radyo Inquirer 990 AM; and Associated Press
Originally posted at 08:33 am| Sunday, June 17, 2012
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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rights reserved
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