MANILA, Philippines (Updated 9:53 a.m.) — A strong magnitude 5 earthquake hit the province of Batangas on Friday morning, with state seismologists from Phivolcs fearing both damages and aftershocks.
The epicenter of the rumbling was recorded southwest of Calaca, Batangas at around 8:24 a.m. and had tectonic origins
Intensity V (strong)
- Lemery, Batangas
Intensity IV (moderately strong)
- Cuenca, Bauan, Sta. Teresita, and San Luis, Batangas
- Tagaytay City, Cavite; Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila
Intensity III (weak)
- Laurel, Batangas City, Batangas
- Tagaytay City, Cavite; Dolores, Quezon
Intensity II (sightly felt)
- Talisay, and Rosario, Batangas;
- Magallanes, Cavite
- Boac, Marinduque
- City of Las Pinas, City of Pasay, Metro Manila
- Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro
- Mauban, Polillo, and Gumaca, Quezon
- Taytay, Antipolo, Rizal
Intensity I (scarcely perceptible)
- Dinalupihan, Bataan
- Malvar, Batangas
- Malolos City, and Guiguinto, Bulacan
- Ternate, Cavite
- San Pablo, Laguna
- Malabon City, Pateros, City of San Juan, City of Parañaque, Metro Manila
- Abra De Ilog, and Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro
- Lucban, Lucena City, and Alabat, Quezon
- Tanay, Rizal
Phivolcs is expecting both damages and aftershocks due to earthquake.
“So far everything’s okay. No casualties although this is the epicentre,” said Rafael Cuevas, a disaster agency official in Calaca City in Batangas province.
“We felt a strong shake… for less than 10 seconds.”
Mabini municipality disaster chief Arnold Panopio said: “At first it was just a slight jolt then it became strong then stopped immediately.”
Panopio said no casualties or damage had been reported, but a local high school with around 2,000 students had suspended classes as a precaution.
In Manila, students wearing hard hats and office workers assembled outside buildings, waiting for the all clear to go back inside.
Quakes are a daily occurrence in the Philippines, which sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic as well as volcanic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. — with a report from Agence France Presse
