5 tectonic quakes jolt Masbate

LEGAZPI CITY — A series of five earthquakes of tectonic origin jolted the island-province of Masbate yesterday morning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Leny Torrevillas, officer-in-charge of the Phivolcs station in Masbate, said the first tremor, with an intensity of 2, was detected at 7:40 a.m. and lasted for five to seven seconds, followed by an intensity 3 quake at 8:40 a.m.

Three other tremors followed at 8:41 a.m., 8:43 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., with intensities of 5, 3 and 2, respectively. Each also lasted for five to seven seconds.

The 8:41 a.m. quake was also felt at intensity 4 in Irosin, Sorsogon.

Torrevillas said the quakes’ epicenter was 14 kilometers northeast of Masbate, between Ticao Island and Baleno town.

A 5.2-magnitude quake shook parts of Southern Luzon and Metro Manila last Oct. 20, followed by more than a hundred aftershocks, only seven of which were felt. — With Helen Flores