Strong quake jolts Zambo

ZAMBOANGA CITY — A strong earthquake hit this southern port city and nearby provinces before dawn yesterday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

No damages were reported though.

Engineer Allan Labayog, Phivolcs officer for Western Mindanao, said the quake, which struck at about 3:42 a.m., registered a magnitude of 4.9 on the Richter scale.

Phivolcs said the quake was felt at Intensity 5 in Sikun, Zamboanga del Norte, Intensity 4 in Zamboanga City, and Intensity 3 in Ipil and Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur.

Labayog said the quake, which was tectonic in origin "and a little strong," lasted for five to eight seconds.

Many villagers were roused from their sleep when the quake struck.

Labayog said the current unrest in Mt. Bulusan in Sorsogon and Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Occidental and even in Mt. Merapi in Indonesia did not cause the quake.

Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said about 20 earthquakes occur in the country every day, but only 100 to 150 are actually felt every year.

At present, Phivolcs has 64 monitoring stations across the country.

The Philippines sits on what is commonly referred to as the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that encircles the Pacific Ocean basin. — Roel Pareño and Sheila Crisostomo