Magnitude 5.5 quake hits Leyte
CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City shook for a few seconds last night as it experienced an Intensity 3 earthquake that struck eight kilometers northeast of Ormoc City in Leyte.
Nane Danlag, science research assistant of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvocs) in Manila, told The Freeman the earthquake reached magnitude 5.2 when it struck at 7:56 p.m.
Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake while intensity measures the strength of shaking produced by the earthquake at a certain location.
Danlag said the strongest intensity was recorded in Ormoc City at Intensity 4.
Villaba and Pastrana, both towns in Leyte, experienced Intensity 3.
Danlag said the earthquake, which was triggered by a tectonic activity, occurred nine kilometers below the surface.
Danlag initially reported that the epicenter was traced 20 kilometers off Borbon town, Cebu with a magnitude of 4.8.
She explained that the local earthquake bulletin was subject to changes as it gets updated by data generated from different stationed seismometers positioned strategically across the country. (FREEMAN)
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