16 hurt as quake jolts Bukidnon

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – At least 16 people were injured and about two dozen houses and shops were damaged when a 5.2-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Bukidnon Monday evening.

Ten of the 16 who were hurt when they were hit by falling objects were still confined at the hospital yesterday, according to the Bukidnon Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The earthquake was felt at Intensity 5 in Valencia City, Intensity 4 in Malaybalay City and Intensity 3 in the town of Quezon.

Ana Caneda, Office of Civil Defense acting director for Region 10, said Valencia City also experienced a power outage at around 8 p.m. Monday.

Winchell Sevilla, seismologist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said the quake was caused by a movement of a local fault about a kilometer below the earth’s surface.

“It was very shallow, so even though it was only 5.2 the energy it generated can cause a lot of damage,” he told AFP.

Sevilla said the quake was also felt in other areas of Mindanao, though there were no immediate reports of further damage. – Edith Regalado, Alexis Romero