The earthquake, which registered a magnitude 5.5 on the Richter scale, was triggered by the movement of the Masbate segment of the Philippine Fault, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
The temblor was preceded by an Intensity 4 quake at 9:29 p.m. and was followed by aftershocks of Intensities 2 and 3 at 10:22 p.m. and 10:23 p.m., respectively, Phivolcs said.
The 10:11 p.m. tremor, which reportedly lasted for three seconds, was also felt at Intensity 4 in Irosin, Sorsogon, Intensity 3 in Palo, Leyte and Roxas City, and Intensity 2 in Lignon Hill, Albay.
The quake’s epicenter was located at 25 kilometers east of Masbate, Masbate. Phivolcs expects stronger aftershocks.
Chief Superintendent Jaime Lasar, Bicol police director, said the building of the Masbate Comprehensive High School sustained damage although authorities have yet to determine its extent.
Lasar said Masbate provincial administrator Herminio Valero called for an emergency meeting of the provincial disaster coordinating council for an ocular survey particularly of the towns of Uson and Palanas, which bore the brunt of an earlier temblor.
Last Feb. 15, an Intensity 5.2 quake struck Masbate, followed by an aftershock of Intensity 6.1, leaving one person dead, five others injured and about P11 million in property and infrastructure damage.
Meanwhile, Basco, Batanes was also jolted at 2:27 a.m. yesterday by an Intensity 4 tectonic earthquake that registered a magnitude of 4.7 on the Richter scale.
Phivolcs said the quake’s epicenter was located at 31 kilometers west of Basco. — Felix de los Santos and Celso Amo