MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News)—A strong 6.5-magnitude offshore earthquake hit the southern Philippines early Saturday but seismologists said there was no threat of a tsunami. No casualties were also reported
The offshore quake hit at 6:53 am and woke people from their sleep in Davao, a major city of about 1.5 million located 100 kilometres (62 miles) to the northwest of the quake’s epicenter.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said the quake measured at magnitude 6.5 and took place 41 kilometers southeast of Mati at a depth of 42 kilometers. It is of tectonic origin, the report added.
According to PHIVOLCS, Intesity 5 was felt in Mati, Davao Oriental and in Davao City. Intesity 4 was felt in General Santos City; Alabel, Glan and Malapatan in Sarangani; and in Polomolok, South Cotobato. Meanwhile, Intensity 3 was felt in South, Cotobato and Cagayan de Oro City.
Milder aftershocks were detected shortly after the first tremor, PHIVOLCS reported.
“There was no report of damage yet but since the quake was offshore… we expect no significant damage,” Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology chief Renato Solidum told AFP.
“(There is) no tsunami threat related to the quake,” he added.
In its preliminary impact assessment, the US Geological Survey also said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage from the tremor, which had a depth of 62 kilometres.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat from the strong quake.
In Davao, the quake awakened locals but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, local civil defence spokesman McAdrian Covero told AFP.
A milder aftershock was detected shortly after the first tremor, the Philippine seismology institute reported.
The Philippines is regularly hit by quakes due to its location along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where tectonic plates collide, and magnitude-6 temblors are not uncommon.
(AYP, With reports from Joni Romblon, EBC Compostela Valley Correspondent, and Agence France Presse)
