Strong quakes rock Calatagan

MANILA, Philippines — Two earthquakes that registered magnitude 6.6 and 5.5 were recorded off the coast of Batangas early yesterday morning and were felt as far north as Nueva Ecija.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the first quake was recorded at 4:48 a.m. and located 23 kilometers west of Calatagan, Batangas.

It had a depth of focus of 123 km and was tectonic in origin.

The second tectonic quake had a depth of focus of 108 km and was recorded at 4:57 a.m. some 15 kms south of Calatagan.

For the first quake, Intensity 5 was felt in Calapan City and Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro; Sablayan and Magsaysay, Occidental Mindoro and Carmona and Dasmariñas City, Cavite.

Intensity 4 was felt in the National Capital Region, Cavite, Batangas and Rizal, while Intensity 2 was recorded in Pasig City and San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan.

Intensity 1 was felt in Quezon; Magalang, Pampanga; Iriga and Sipocot, Camarines Sur; Daet, Camarines Norte; Palayan City, Nueva Ecija; Iloilo City; Kalibo, Aklan; San Jose City, Antique; Bago City, Negros Occidental.

Meanwhile, the second quake was felt at Intensity 5 in Calatagan and Intensity 4 in Balayan, Calaca and Mabini, Batangas.

Intensity 3 was felt in Makati and Quezon Cities in Metro Manila; Tagaytay City and Naic in Cavite; Batangas City, San Pascual and Bauan in Batangas and Hermosa, Bataan.

At least 38 aftershocks, with magnitudes ranging between 1.6 and 3.1, were recorded by Phivolcs.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) said there were no reported casualties as a result of the two quakes, a declaration confirmed in Batangas by Governor Hermilando Mandanas.

There was also no significant damage to houses and buildings in the province, said Mandanas.

Provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer Joselito Castro said residents in landslide prone areas had been evacuated two days earlier due to heavy rains.

Meanwhile, the earthquakes forced the managements of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) and the Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2 (LRT-1 and LRT-2) to temporarily suspend train operations yesterday to check for possible structural damage.

After the safety checks, the MRT-3, which runs the EDSA route from Quezon City to Pasay City, resumed operations at 7:02 a.m.

The LRT-1 – which traverses Quezon City, Caloocan, Manila, Pasay and Parañaque – declared the whole rail line was safe to operate as early as 6:25 a.m.

The LRT-2 – which links Antipolo, Marikina, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan and Manila – accepted commuters at 8:01 a.m.