Earthquake Strikes Phillipines
An earthquake in the Philippines may have rattled a few nerves Saturday but not much else. According to the Philippines News Agency, the quake hit the island of Mindanao shortly after noon local time.
According to the US Geological Survey, the 6.2 magnitude quake hit 17 miles southeast of Caburan, Philippines. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded the earthquake in the Philippine island at a depth of approximately 100 kilometers deep. Phivolcs stated that the intensity of the Philippines earthquake was as high as a “moderately strong” Intensity IV in some areas.
The island nation is located on the notorious Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone where earthquakes commonly occur, most of them too small to be noticed. However, Saturday’s earthquake in the Philippines caught the attention of the authorities. An initial report said that aftershocks were expected.
Fortunately, a follow-up from the PNA reports that Desiderio Cabanlit, regional director, says that there are no injuries reported, the damage will not be severe, and that aftershocks are no longer expected.
Nerves are already on edge around the world in the wake of the recent meteor crash disaster in Russia, now confirmed to be the largest meteor blast to hit the earth in a century.
The Mindanao island has experienced several other moderate to moderately strong earthquakes in recent months including an earthquake recorded in November 2012 that French news agency Agence France-Presse reported to be a topic of some controversy. Phivolcs measured this earthquake at 6.5 magnitude, while the United States Geological Survey down-graded it to 6.1 — weaker than Saturday’s event.
A much more powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck on August 31, 2012. Over 100,000 people had to evacuate their homes in the wake of a tsunami warning, and one person was killed in the resulting mudslide.
Today’s earthquake in the Philippines seems to have caused only minimal damage, no doubt a relief to concerned residents.
