Quake jolts Metro, parts of Luzon

An Intensity 4 tectonic earthquake shook Metro Manila and a wide portion of Luzon at 1:57 a.m. yesterday, but no damage or casualties were reported, officials said.

The epicenter of the quake, which registered a magnitude of 4 on the Richter scale, was traced at 11 kilometers north of Palayan City in Nueva Ecija, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.

The tremor was triggered by the movement of the Gabaldon segment of the Philippine Fault.

It was felt at Intensity 4 in Tarlac, Tarlac; Baler, Aurora; Palayan City; Clark Field and Angeles City in Pampanga; Manila, Taguig and the cities of Quezon, Pasay, Pasig and Makati.

It was also felt at Intensity 3 in Tagaytay City; Loakan in Baguio City; Lingayen, Pangasinan and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan; Intensity 2 in Baguio City; and Intensity 1 in Lucban and Guinayangan in Quezon.

The mountainous Philippine archipelago of 7,100 islands sits on at least four major faults, and mild earthquakes are common.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake in 1990 killed nearly 2,000 people in Central and Northern Luzon. — Felix de los Santos, Ding Cervantes