Magnitude 5.9 earthquake hits Davao de Oro

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MANILA, Philippines (Second update, 5:13 p.m.) — A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Tuesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said, with local authorities warning of possible aftershocks and damage.

The earthquake occurred at around 2:02 pm, a few kilometers from the municipality of Maragosan in the mountainous province of Davao de Oro on the island of Mindanao.

According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake that struck Mindanaon province had a magnitude of 6.0.

According to Phivolcs, the reported severity is as follows:

Intensity V (strong) – Maco, Maragusan, Nabunturan, New Bataan, Pantucan and Davao de Oro Intensity IV (moderately strong) – Monkayo ​​and Davao de Oro; Tagum City, Davao City; Bislig City, Surigao del Sur Intensity 3 (weak) – Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur; Davao City. Mate City, Davao East Province – Cagayan de Oro City; Antipas, Carmen, and Kidapawan City, Cotabato; Columbus, Sultan Kudarat I (barely perceptible) – Aleosan, Cotabato; Amal, Nidal and President Kirino Sultan Qudrat

Shallow quakes tend to cause more damage than deeper quakes, but local authorities said there have been no reports of major damage.

Cherrylyn Dapiton of the Maragusan Disaster Bureau confirmed a landslide occurred near a road, but it did not affect anyone or impede traffic.

Pictures posted on the local government’s Facebook page showed patients on beds or in wheelchairs outside the hospital after being evacuated from the facility.

Corporal Stephanie Clemen of the police in the city of Tagum, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Maragosan, said the quake lasted about 30 seconds and was followed by aftershocks.

“We immediately went under our desks and when the earth stopped shaking we went straight out,” Clement told AFP.

“We are still outside because a moderate aftershock just hit us.”

Kleimen said that while the quake did not appear to have destroyed anything, it was strong enough to “create fear.”

Video posted to Facebook and verified by AFP showed high school students in the municipality of Moab, less than 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Maragosan, shouting as they exited a two-story building and huddled outside.

Phoebe Alberto and her colleagues at the Disaster Office of the Municipality of New Bataan, which borders Maragosan, fled the building when it shook.

“We are still assessing the damage to the building, if any,” said Alberto.

Civil defense officer Jesselyn Cabina said the quake was felt on the other side of the mountains in the coastal municipality of Karaca and sent people running outdoors.

Earthquakes occur on a daily basis in the Philippines which lies along the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, an arc of seismic as well as volcanic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Basin.

Most earthquakes are too weak for humans to feel, but strong and destructive earthquakes come randomly with no technology available to predict when and where they will occur.

The country’s Civil Defense Bureau regularly conducts exercises that simulate earthquake scenarios along active fault lines.

The last major earthquake occurred in October in the northern Philippines.

The 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the mountain town of Dolores in Apra County, injuring several people, damaging buildings and cutting power to most of the area.

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake in the mountainous Abra region last July triggered landslides and fissures, killing 11 people and injuring several hundred. — With AFP/Cecile Morella, Ron Lopez

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