An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale hit the south coast of Luzon, in the northern Philippines, this Thursday with no damage or a tsunami warning.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), which monitors seismic activity around the world, indicated that the earthquake occurred at a depth of 124 kilometers off the southwest coast of Luzon at 10:19 a.m. (3:19 a.m. in Lisbon ).
The epicenter was recorded off the coast of Calatagan, Batangas province, about 100 kilometers southwest of the capital Manila, where it was strongly felt.
Calatagan police chief Emil Mendoza said no casualties or property damage have been reported so far, but authorities in charge of disaster management have been deployed to assess the earthquake’s balance.
The person in charge of disaster management in Calatagan, Ronald Torres, said the quake lasted between 30 seconds and a minute and was felt in Manila, where residents fled to the streets.
The Philippine archipelago lies on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity where approximately 7,000 earthquakes are recorded annually, most of them moderate.
In October, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the northern Philippines, leaving several injured in the town of Dolores in the mountainous province of Abra. Several buildings were damaged and electricity was lost in most of the area.
Months earlier, in July, 11 people died and several hundred were injured after a magnitude 7 earthquake that also hit Abra province, causing landslides and cracks in the ground.
Source: DN
