MANILA, Philippines — Mt. Pinatubo is not exhibiting unusual activities following the magnitude 6.1 earthquake that jolted Luzon, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology assured the public Thursday.
Phivolcs made the statement following concerns that the quake that killed at least 16 people and injured 86 has effects on the active volcano located on the boundaries of Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales. The earthquake—which was tectonic in origin—hit Castillejos, Zambales late Monday afternoon.
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“So far, the Pinatubo Volcano Seismic Monitoring network has not detected any changes in the condition of the volcano after the occurrence of the magnitude 6.1 earthquake that may indicate any sign of volcanic unrest,” Phivolcs said.
The volcanologists who were conducting fieldwork inside the crater when the earthquake took place found no steaming activity before, during and after the quake, the agency added.
It explained that the reported emission of unusual smoke coming from the Pinatubo and other observations were actually dust clouds generated by rockslides. These were subsequently blown by the wind.
“These rockslides resulted from the strong ground shaking produced by the magnitude 6.1 earthquake and succeeding aftershocks. The generation of dust clouds was verified by Phivolcs Quick Response Team who went to Sitio Pasbul, Brgy. Camias, Porac, Pampanga on April 29, 2019,” Phivolcs said, adding it is continuously monitoring the activities of the volcano.