Quake jolts Samar town

A magnitude 4.7 tectonic earthquake jolted Catarman, Samar yesterday morning but caused no casualties or damage, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said the quake occurred at 7:55 a.m. with its epicenter located 159 kilometers northeast of Catarman.

He said the tremor was caused by the movement of the Philippine Trench, which stretches about 1,320 kilometers from the northeasternmost part of Luzon to the northern Maluku Island of Halmahera in Indonesia.

The quake was felt at Intensity 3 in Legazpi City. — Helen Flores